


Dark Angel

by MidnightMoonWarrior



Category: Green Hornet (2011), Green Hornet - Fandom
Genre: Awesomness, F/M, Kitty - Freeform, LET'S ROLL KATO!, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-02-23
Updated: 2012-08-01
Packaged: 2017-10-31 12:37:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/344140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightMoonWarrior/pseuds/MidnightMoonWarrior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Britt's eyes, Kato is brilliant, an extremely good coffee maker, and the best friend you could ask for. That's all true, until the Green Hornet find something that proves that even the sidekicks have secrets to hide. But what's to hide? B/K later. - CHAPTER TWELVE IS NOW UP!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Genesis

**Author's Note:**

> ~My ownership of Britt, Kato, B/K, Casey, the black beauty, ECT; is unfortunately non existence at this point. Although, the plot, any and all OCs are mine. Just so ya know ; p
> 
> AN: This is a weird, wicked, and wonderful muse that came to me; that's my excuse.
> 
> ANNN: Yes, I know that Kato's parents were killed when he was 4, but I am changing it to 10. 
> 
> The angel muse feeds on reviews;.thank you for feeding it! The muse also loves cookies; it's munching on one from a reviewer right now! *munch*
> 
> ANNN: There is some Mandarin Chinese in this chapter; I do not speak the language so if there are words that are incorrect then I apologize. I have put translations so that you can know what their actually saying!
> 
> One more thing: If you are confused about the plot so far, then PLEASE PM me and I'll lay it out for you. I want people to be able to enjoy this story as much as I do, that's why reviews help so much. But knowing that someone is confused just brings my good mood down. You guys are the reason that this story exists (that and the green hornet movie for inspiration) and I want everyone to get what this is about.
> 
> Here we goooo;.ENJOYYY!

_He couldn't breathe._

_Lungs burning, he dare not slow down._

_Bright, colorful lights blurred through his teary eyes, the busy streets yielding to him as he weaved through._

" _Watch it!" Ignoring the yell, he threw himself into a back ally; trying to hid himself._

_A bar of light from a dirty streetlight shone onto his hands, revealing the crimson._

_He would try to wipe it off, but his clothes were already soaked in it. Trying to calm himself, he closed his dark eyes in a desperate attempt to forget about the liquid. But it was still there, where it would always be with the memory of the night._

_Blood, so much blood._

_His night had not started like this, it had actually been pleasant. A play with his parents, one that he had begged to see. Afterwards, after a stop for ice cream, at a late hour; they had started home. Walking down the street between them, he had been happy. Joyful, bliss filled, whatever you wanted to call it; he was all of those emotions and more._

_So happy..._

_That's when the gunshot had gone off._

_His father had gone down first, protecting himself and his mother. A shot to the chest, the first drops of blood. Then, a moment after telling him to run, she had to fallen. Pressing his hands to the wound in a foolish attempt to stop the bleeding, it transferred to cover him. His eyes had then turned up to see the shooter glaring at him_

" _Why?" He had asked, no screamed._

" _An eye for an eye, a life for…" He had never heard the ending, running as fast as his legs could carry him._

_Now, trembling behind a trash can, a tear ran down his cheek. Hitting his stained hands, the blood flowed down his forearms; one of the only places that he wasn't covered. He had to move, had to find them; but…perhaps it was shock, he refused to move._

_Footsteps made his own life water run cold, was it them?_

" _I found you little one"_

_Resisting the urge to scream, he tried to stay quiet. More tears had followed the first; he shivered as a slight breeze blew into his wet body. It wasn't them, where were they?_

" _Come out, make this easy"_

_Why was he alone, why were they not here to protect him? They had said that they would, where were they? A dark shadow blocked out the bar of light, he looked up to see the same shooter. Grabbing him by the cuff of his shirt, his head soon smacked against the concrete._

" _Get to your feet, now"_

_Better to obey, he knew that he was going to die. Fighting the lightheadedness making him stumble, he stood to stand on his own two feet. Narrowing in on the only part of his attacker's visible skin, two dark eyes, he knew what was coming._

_The gun was raised, aimed between his eyes._

_It was a perfect, clear shot; there would be no chance for him. A black, gloved finger tightened around the trigger. Blood covered, he would join his parents, never to see his…_

" _KATO!"_

_His eye darted to see them, rage in their eyes._

_But the sound of the shot filled his ears and all he heard was their screams…_

"NO!" He screamed, jerking up to stare into a dark abyss

On the edge of hyperventilating, he sat righted himself so that his feet touched the floor. Rubbing his eyes, he found them to be wet. Damn it, he stared at the ceiling. Memories of the past had always haunted him, but thankfully they had decreased over the years. But the darkness still invaded, no matter how he had tried to forget.

Looking down at his hands, they were clean.

But he still remembered the feeling of them being covered in blood, every line of his palm being filled with the crimson of his family. Drops dripping between his cracked fingers…

5:20 in the morning, that's what the clock bedside announced.

The red numbers seemed to mock him, it irritated him. The sounds of smashed plastic reached his ear; he wearily smirked in satisfaction before falling back into bed. Falling asleep was going to be a challenge, his heart still beating so fast. If he did fall back to sleep to get the rest he so desperately needed, he hadn't slept well in days, the dreams would come back. Trying to block them out, he was still unable to sleep soundly. Britt didn't know, coffee and energy drinks helped to keep him up and awake for everything that happened, nor would he find out anytime soon.

The green hornet would want to know the source and there was no way in hell that he was sharing that. He had kept it hidden for 15 years; there was no way it was coming out now. Even if the playboy was his Xiong-di, there are certain things that he couldn't…wouldn't share. And that's the way it was going to be.

Britt…he mentally groaned.

His 'man' as Britt called him, although it was just a platonic use of the word, was expecting him at work at eight. Well he wasn't expecting him, but that's the time that he was always there. It was right before the million (perhaps billion, didn't matter though) –are woke up, giving him just enough time to make his specialty coffee and put it beside the bed before a groggy groan sounded. His leaf coffee (as Britt called it) was excellent, he should know. He made the machine, also making the coffee everyday, and he had been drinking far more than the green good villain had been. The dreams, more like nightmares, had gotten worse in the last few weeks.

What was he going to do?

Britt would know something was up if he was late, he was never late; perhaps he could just lie his way out of it. He was very good at it, just another skill taught to him on the streets. Well actually, that had been the handiwork of…he tried to block the person out.

Wrapping the twisted mess of covers around him, he closed his eyes; wondering what he should do.

Screw Britt, he snuggled…err sunk deeper into the covers (he did not snuggle, it wasn't the type of thing kickass sidekicks did according to his boss), he would lie.

Perhaps he could sleep now without dreams.

Forget about everything.

Just once, just maybe…

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

Something was up, he knew without a doubt that something was wrong.

First of all, his cup of crap was dripping down the wall from where he had thrown it; his typical response when faced with horrid drinks trying to pass as coffee.

That one fact told him that Kato, his man, his nameless sidekick, and his awesome coffee maker was not here yet. Most employers would fire the person, most of his workers would be told not to be late again; but it was Kato.

The guy who was predicable in an unpredictable way was never late.

It was kind of disturbing that he wasn't hearing the sounds of machine gun fire or the smell of a running motor coming from the garage; or it was better known as (at least to him) as Kato's man cave. It was appropriately named; it had cars, beer, and his partner's naughty drawings. The Chinese man insisted he wasn't a pervert, but he was; Britt just knew it. All the room needed was a flat screen, which he was considering putting in, but there was one just in the next room.

It was already ten, he had awoken with a headache at nine; his man was usually here by eight, so the maids said.

Where was he? The question kept echoing in his mind, he wasn't sure how he would get through the day without Kato by his side. If anything important happened at the newspaper, like a meeting, the dark haired male would remind him. Was he even supposed to go into the office today? The aspirin seemed to be working finally, but he wished he could crawl back into bed.

"Sorry I'm late" A smile came to his face, before fading, at the entrance of Kato. The shorter man looked like shit, wrinkled clothes with large circles under his eyes; it kind of reminded him of himself sometimes after a late night part session.

"Don't worry about it" He waved off the apology, Kato didn't need to apologize for shit. If anyone needed to, it was him; he was still apologizing (even though Kato had said he didn't need to) for how the Bloodnofsky thing had gone down, him being a dick and everything.

"I overslept, alarm clock didn't work" A thick accent filled in the answer he wanted, although he took the response as a cover up. Barely slept at all is more like it, he thought as his partner went into the kitchen. It took at least a minute to make the coffee; he had two minutes to look.

Not rushing, but taking large steps, so that Kato wouldn't hear, he went to the garage. His mechanic kept some personal affects here, mostly just drawing books that were full, maybe it would give a clue what was going on.

It seemed to him that Kato had been distracted lately and slightly more sluggish than usual. Digging through peoples stuff might be wrong, but he was his boss and he had the right to do so! That's how he justified it, although he knew Kato would kick his ass if he found out.

Finding the old, dusty notebooks; he quickly flipped through them.

He had to make this fast or he might just get strangled.

Weapon, car, perverted drawing, weapon, weapons, car, black beauty number one, random hot chick…same old same…

What was that? He flipped back to the previous page; there was a photograph in the folds.

The backdrop was the city, bright lights in the distance. There were three people, two boys and a girl, in the frame; one seemed so familiar… He couldn't quite place it. None of them could have been over 14; each had the same features as the last. Siblings, he decided, although the one in the middle was much younger than the others.

Dark hair, dark eyes, shy smile…

"Britt, you're leaf's ready!"

Quickly replacing the books, he tucked the photo into his pocket.

The little boy, he had to find out who he was; who the three were. Something was going on with Kato; he was going to find out what. The younger man had helped him plenty of times, more than he could count and this time he was going to return the favor.

The Green Hornet's on the case! It sounded nice in his head.

He was going to get answers about Kato…

…one way or another.


	2. Cracks

Steady…

Any sudden movement could knock him out, or worse screw up the experiment. Creating a new chemical for the Hornet's gas gun, one that would knock the person out for the short time of ten minutes (for Britt's sake) and screw with the person's nervous system so when they did wake up they couldn't move (For drug dealer scum and the people who thought he, the nameless sidekick, was useless), had been on the top of his to do list for the last few days.

A rumor had come to his ears about a week ago, a group of vanished coming through. Their kind lived under the radar, rarely surfacing, except to settle a score. No one would hire them, but no one would go against them. Well except for his idiot partner, which was on of the reasons he wanted the new gas to be ready. Little was said when he had grilled the informant, except that they were out for blood. For whose? That was the question that he wanted answered. There had been no description, only that there were three of them.

Three, the number had been enough to set off a wave of fear through him. There was no way; he had told himself, that they had come here. His tracks had been covered well; he had thought they had vanished after that day. It was improbable that they were coming, but…

Carefully dropping a drop of liquid into another, a small puff of green (it had to be color coded) told him he was on the right track. He was almost done, and then he had to go work on new armor. After that it was more weapons for the Black Beauty and then there were infrared sunglasses he wanted to create so they could see the heat signatures of their enemies

The Green Hornet was going to be prepared, even if it was just a rumor of the trio; they weren't going to be caught off guard, he was not going to let his guard down…not after what had happened last time.

_His arm burned like he had been stabbed with salt rubbed into the hole in the flesh._

_As a reflex, his hand held the wound as blood seeped out; but the pressure made him groan in pain. Falling, he barely realized that someone had caught him until a moment passed that he wasn't on the ground._

" _Kato?" A familiar voice spoke; it was filled with fear as he felt the person's hold shift_

" _Su…sumi…" The whimpered word left his mouth_

" _Shhh, it's okay; we're here" He faintly smiled, they we here for him, just like they had promised. A smooth hand wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead, before more pressure was applied to his arm. Knowing what was happening, he moved his hand to let the bandage do its job; but that didn't stop him from hissing in pain. He kept his eyes on the person, two dark eyes looking back to comfort him._

" _How is he?" A rougher voice asked, silent footsteps having led the person there after chasing the bad person away. There was worry, but fury was mixed in, the tone a growl compared to the other's voice._

" _The bullet took out a chunk, but it's just a scratch…" The calmer voice stated with a bit of sadness mixed in, before switching to anger "Do we know the shooter?"_

" _Didn't get a good look…" The other muttered, cursing himself in a way "…but I have a pretty good idea"_

" _Let's get him back to the house, we'll figure out revenge then" As if on cue, he felt himself be lifted bridal style into the strong arms of the deeper voice. But he was safe; they were here, even though his parents weren't._

" _K?" The figure carrying him looked down as they kept walking. The expression wasn't as kind as the other's, but he knew that the person was a softie under everything._

" _Yeah angel?" His nickname that everyone called him, it was appropriate in every way._

" _Mommy and Daddy…" He was cut off before his sentence was even halfway through_

" _They're in a better place" The shorter of the two elders cut in, giving him a small smile_

" _But…" He wanted more information, what had happened after he had run away? But again he was cut off; it was obvious that he wasn't going to get his answer._

" _Don't worry, we're going to get your arm fixed up, then we'll read a story" A grin came to his face which was mirrored by the one who's arms had a steady grip._

" _The one about the angel?" It was his favorite; the two always did special voices which always put him to sleep._

" _Of course, what else would we read?" The figure winked at him while hugging a bit closer to his chest in a protective manner. In response, he curled into the worn leather jacket, feeding off the body heat._

_He knew the person was a…_

" _Softie" The other snickered_

" _Shut it" The taller growled_

_They were there; they would take care of him. Mommy had told him that they were his guardians, protectors of sorts; but they were more than that, he knew it and so did they._

_Staring into the dark sky, he felt safe._

_He was with them._

_And that's all that mattered._

A tear had crept down his cheek; he set down the chemical carefully before removing his gloves. After that was done, he rubbed it away; why couldn't he just forget. He almost wished they were here, but it was impossible; he was on his own.

He had to do everything in his power to protect Britt; he didn't want his man hurt. No matter what anyone said, the white man was his responsibility, the hornet was his. If anything happened, it was his fault; even if he went down with a bullet to the head right before the same was delivered to his Xiong-di, he would spent his days in hell knowing he could have done more.

Another tear flowed down with gravity, the exhaustion of the night helping his carefully placed mask of control crumble to fall apart. He was a wreck; he hoped that Britt hadn't noticed. Not that he could of, right after their morning meal, the playboy had taken off. 'To the newspaper' he had claimed, which had set off a warning signal in his mind. The hornet rarely went to paper before one; it had only been ten thirty when the male had left.

He made a mental note to ask Britt was going on, that was if he could get through the day with collapsing or blowing himself up.

Slipping the gloves back on, the chemical was precisely being pored a moment later.

His mind was a mess, but there was so much to do.

This time, he would be ready.

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO!~XxX**

What is he doing?

The question was echoing her mind as she watched her boss go on a whirlwind rampage. She had been doing her job as a secretary, when he had come in and cleared everything, the files and even her lunch, onto the ground before looking her straight in the eyes.

He had obviously wanted her attention, as a growl built in her, she knew that he had gotten it.

About to yell at him to pick the stuff up, she noticed the look he had in his eyes. Mostly curiosity, with a pinch of worry mixed in. She'd yell at him later, right now she wanted to know what the hell he was doing in front of her desk.

"What do we know about Kato?" She raised an eyebrow; Britt would know more about the mysterious man than her. The two were like peanut butter and jelly; you rarely saw one without the other nearby; which was perfectly understandable due to the fact that the Green Hornet and his sidekick always looked out for each other.

She had been named the mastermind, which was a job that she was heavily compensated for; telling them where to be and who to hit each night. While she had a hunch that the bond between the two went deeper than being Xoing-di, she kept it to herself.

Before she could attempt to respond, the owner of the paper started to ramble. "He's a kickass ninja, orphaned before being found by my dad in Shanghi…then there was the years he worked here…"

He was talking to himself; the playboy usually voiced his thoughts without a filter, but why was she here?

"Do you need something Mr. Reid?" Straightening the papers near her feet before putting them back on the desk, she wondered if he would respond. Sometimes Britt would just zone out, she wished he could do that in his office.

Then she found a photo in her face, it was in her hand a moment later.

Studying the three figures, she knew that one seemed so familiar; she looked back up to Britt.

"I need to know who they are" His tone was smooth, but frazzled at the same time

"I'll see what I can find" He smiled before walking into his office, she looked at the picture.

She had a hunch that the one in the center was the nameless sidekick, but the other two seemed so focused. Even in a moment of leisure, the two looked as though they were ready to use their bodies as shields. Their bodies were even angled slightly, to where a single step could block a shot. For what reason? Now her own curiosity was seeping in.

Opening a new window on the computer, her hands poised themselves to begin searching. Taking one last look at the picture now on her desk, so many questions came into her mind.

All would be answered, at least she hoped so.

The mastermind of the Green Hornet took a sip of coffee before putting her hands back in their original position, key words appeared on screen.

She would find something…

Or spend the entire day trying.


	3. Curiosity

Who were they?

The question was driving him crazy; he was literally pacing his office floor trying to figure it out. Putting Lenore on the case was the only real idea he had of finding out who the heck the three were, but the boy in the middle kept appearing in his mind.

It was Kato, he just knew it.

The eyes, a shy smile that he had rarely seen; only did Kato grin when either he was injured (not seriously, like slipping on a banana peel) or some new invention had succeeded in working. Those were really the only times, unless you count the Chinese man laughing at his jokes or chuckling at his sarcasm, which was never.

But the ass kicker had never mentioned family, other that his parents had died when he was young and then the subject had been dropped to never be brought up again.

Until now.

Whenever there was a mention of family, they would both frown. He did, because his father had died, but what about Kato? He had said that he had been orphaned, but had there been something before that?

Hurry up; he groaned as another second passed that his assistant and mastermind boss did not come through the door.

He, Britt Reid, was not in anyway, shape, or form a patient person. That was very well known by his friends, his workers, and pretty much anyone he had ever met. He despised waiting on anything, except if it was proven to require the time it was taking. That didn't mean he had to enjoy the time he was wasting.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if he should just ask Kato. Why all the secrecy? Oh, that's right; Kato would kick his ass and then curse his name in Chinese. Going through people's stuff, especially the sidekicks, was not a good thing. Ever.

But maybe the man would be up for sharing the tale, just like he would be up for knocking Britt out with a new gas. He was thinking it would be the later.

"We should just ask him"

Looking up, he found the person he had been waiting on in his doorway.

"We should, but that would lead to him throwing a fit" Straightening his jacket, which had been slightly wrinkled from his pacing, he stated the fact which led to her raising an eyebrow.

"Kato throws fits?" He chuckled, only a few times had the event happened.

"Rarely, but it's not pretty" It was true, last time he had thrown a fit was when he had pressed a button on a black beauty which had just happened to be the self destruct mechanism…Kato hadn't talked to him for about a week after a screaming match when they were almost blown up. That had been about a month ago, he only now allowed back in the garage. The little guy still didn't want him near the car unless it was necessary, dude held a grudge.

She smiled at the new information when a thought hit him, which he voiced.

"You got anything?"

"I do…" She shifted the papers in her arms

"Sweet" He grabbed at them, but she swatted his hand away

"First you need to tell me what's going on and where you got the picture"

Groaning wasn't going to help, he knew that much, but it didn't hurt to whine.

"Caseeyyyyy" Claiming that her name was a mouthful, the nickname was a simple and 'cooler' solution; she tolerated it but he was pretty sure that she liked it. Everyone called her it now, even Kato; Lenore was a name of the past.

"To get information about this…" She waved the picture in front of his face, before moving to drop it on his desk before planting her feet with hands on her hips "…you have to answer my questions"

"Come on…"

"Now"

She was as stubborn as he was, but one of them had to give in. He really didn't want to be that person, but he really wanted to know…

"I found the picture in one of Kato's notebooks, I was looking for something to tell me what's wrong with Kato" He sighed, eying the papers in her hand wishing that she would tell him already.

"Is he okay?" Unlike most masterminds, at least Casey cared for her minions

"He's just exhausted, I don't think he's been sleeping well; he came in late today…"

"Kato's never later" She questioned, he nodded to confirm it

"He's been making excuses and kind of been distracted the last few days" Hell, the dude had been zoning out like he was known for doing.

"And you think that they have something to do with it?" She looked at the picture

"Yes" Actually, he had no idea if they had something to do with it, but it was a lead. He didn't have anything else to go on; this was his best shot to figure out what was wrong with his partner.

"Okay then, ready to figure this sucker out?"

He smirked as she laid her bundle of papers on his desk before spreading them out.

Looking over them, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. There were many pages of information, none of which made sense at first glance.

"I took a closer look at the picture and in the corner there's a word" Turning over the image he found it was true, thing was…

"It's in Chinese" She rolled her eyes at him for stating the obvious about the characters.

"It translates to Azra" Of course Casey knew how to translate it; she was probably fluent in it.

"Well what does that mean?"

She sighed, again rolling her eyes "It's a name, a last name to be specific"

Kato had never mentioned a last name and he had never asked, all he needed to know was that his name was Kato.

When he didn't say anything, she continued "I looked for people with the last name…"

"And?" He hated when she was cryptic

"The Azra family, the clan to be more specific, is all but extinct" She said sharply, irritated slightly with his lack of patience

"What happened?" Something had to have happened; a family didn't just drop of the earth.

"The information didn't say, but in Shanghi…" She showed him two pictures of two couples; both were in their mid thirties and looked rich. Their clothes looked like silk; both the men carried pinkie rings. "…there were two powerful clans that ruled the city; the two were enemies that fought for control. One night, about fifteen years ago, both clan heads were killed…"

"So the clans massacred each other, do you think the Azras' are one of the two?" It made sense; both blame the other and go to civil war with each other, getting destroyed in the process.

"I do" Casey didn't theorize unless she had a good reason to, he didn't doubt her assumption. Then she continued "You think Kato is…"

"You mean the boy in the middle?"

"We both know its Kato"

They eyed the other for a moment, before Britt replied "I know, I just wasn't sure"

She ran a hand through her hair "Now that we have established that Kato is Kato, we just have to figure out who the other two are"

"If Kato is the only survivor of the clan, then the two could be his bodyguards who died protecting him" He threw out, knowing that that could be why he wasn't sleeping well. The memories were coming back; it might even be near the anniversary of the date.

"Very plausible, but I don't think he's the only one" Again she shuffled the papers to find two names with addresses

Looking at the names, he stared before turning to give her a strange look "Their last names are no where near Azra"

"I know, but their entrance into the United States was the same day and they both came from Shanghi" Background information, though it was scarce, changed hands as she said this.

"You think these two are the bodyguards?" It was a stretch, if the two had tried to cover their tracks; they had done it very well. One was a mechanic with a now stable business, a clean record; the other was the head of a protection company, also no priors. Both businesses were located in a fifty mile radius of each other, so the two had tried to stay close but not attract attention.

It must have been his questioning tone, because she turned to give him a glare "I know it's a stretch, but it's the best lead I have and it's the closest"

"I'll check it out…"

"Tomorrow"

He gave her a look "Why not today?"

"Because both businesses are closed today, it's Sunday" Her answer slightly irritated him, but he knew she was right

"Then I'll go tomorrow"

"Be careful, Mr. Reid "She winked, before walking to the office door

"Aren't I always?" Cue her rolling her eyes

"Whatever Britt"

She was half way out of the room when he remembered he needed to tell her something.

"Hey Casey?"

"Yes?" Her head reappeared to say the word

"Thank you"

"You're very welcome"

Then she was gone, a faint smile on his lips as he turned back to the papers.

Tomorrow…so long to wait.

But it would be worth it, to find out the past behind the image.

Grabbing the picture, with one last look, he tucked it into his jacket pocket.

The conversation with Lenore had revealed something; his man had a dark past.

His man, Kato.

The grin on his face grew bigger as he entered the elevator.

Maybe when he arrived home, he would do something crazy, just to drive the man crazy. Like sweep him into a hug, Kato hated to be touched. Or he could just completely say nothing, which would make Kato close to calling 911.

As he crossed the lobby, he thought that it was a good idea.

Do something crazy to entertain himself and keep his mind off of what was going to happen tomorrow.

Climbing into his car, he rubbed his hands in a devise manner.

An idea popped into his head, the smile stretched from ear to ear.

Perfect.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

He hadn't gotten anything done.

Sure the gas was ready, so was the armor; but he had never gotten to the Black Beauty. Now he was nursing another coffee, feeling like he was about to collapse and feeling like a failure.

The sound of a car rolling up reached his ears, the corners of his mouth turned up a small bit.

Britt…

Just being around the guy made his day a bit better, even though the two drove each other crazy on a daily basis.

"HONEY, I'M HOME!"

He chuckled, but that quickly vanished as two warm arms pulled him close. The heat enveloped him, stress seeming to melt away. And to his surprise, he hugged back.

It was obvious that Britt was slightly disturbed, but he didn't shy away, not even when his head nuzzled the playboy's chest a bit.

I really shouldn't be doing this, the thought went through his mind, but the body contact he craved didn't stop. There was a reason why he didn't like hugs, it was that the last hug had been so hurtful; but yet he craved to go back and relive it over and over.

Not caring about what Britt would think, he didn't let go.

And they just stood there.


	4. Kitty

There was darkness, something they were quite familiar with.

Waiting, it seemed, had finally paid off.

As another man entered the home to hug the target, disgust rose up in them.

But then again, they knew a weakness; in the form of an American.

From the shadows, they had watched for information and they had gotten plenty.

"When do we strike?" One asked, three sets of dark eyes watching the mansion's large windows as the scene of the two men unfolded.

"Now would be the best time, they are unprotected, the white one would go down without a fight and Kato…" The one in the center grinned "…wouldn't be much trouble at all" A gloved hand fingered a knife handle at the hip, the person ready to have blood drip from the silver blade.

"Not now" The leader replied as they glared at their target

The bastard had taken their family and he was going to pay.

So much blood had been shed that night and yet he, the only one left, was still standing tall. Standing tall when they, their family, had fallen so far; it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair, but when they were done, everything was going to be even.

A blade slicing his skin open, just as their clan had right before they had been left to bleed to death. His screams would echo the night as they laughed at his attempts to call his precious guardians.

The leader's face was usually emotionless, as it had been since that night, only focus in mind instead of emotion. But as the night grew blacker a faint smile was hidden…

"But soon, very soon"

They turned to leave, the eldest giving one last look to the two.

He would pay…

A bullet to the brain.

…and so would his man.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

****

* * *

 

What the…

The arms that had once resisted tightened, a head somewhat buried in his chest.

"Didn't know you missed me that much" He said softly, trying to figure out what had just happened.

He had come in, given the totally awesome and totally cheesy line and then gave Kato a surprise hug. A hug, which he had expected his man to push off before telling him never to do that again.

But somehow that hadn't happened, he was being hugged back?

That thought boggled his mind, Kato  **hated**  hugs or any form of touching that wasn't necessary. But despite that fact, the Chinese man was clinging to him like he was some long lost family member or something…

Family member, from the information earlier coming into mind, a thought made itself known. If Kato had lost his family, then the last hug he would have gotten was…never. So maybe, even though he said otherwise, the man needed contact. He just didn't want to relive the memories. It made sense and explained why he was closer to the man than he had been since he had first met him…well other than the two of them going to the death in the pool house.

He hadn't been expecting an answer, but he got one.

"Shut up" The words were buffered but still had the same Kato attitude

"Whatever you say kitty" He wasn't sure where that had come from, but it made the source of heat in his arms yank away and glare at him.

"What did you call me?" The hissed question came with a glare.

"Well you're obviously going soft so Kato is too manly for you, Kitty works better" His ass was going to be kicked, that much was certain as two dark eyes narrowed

But then, the eyes reverted back to their normal and the death in the air disappeared.

What the… The same question went through his mind.

The obviously tired man sunk into a chair and took another sip of coffee while he looked wide eyed at him. Maybe he had gone too far that time…

He took the chair opposite of the exhausted before the man spoke again.

"I'm not going soft, I'm just tired" The statement was said with a bit of anger but nothing of the kind he had expected.

"I know that, you'll still be able to kick ass when you're in you're nineties" He chuckled and saw a small smile come to the other's face. Success!

"Still kick your ass then too" The muttered statement barely reached his ears

"Whatever you say kitty"

"Don't call me that"

"Kiiittttyyy"

"Britt…"

"Meow!"

Two eyes met his, the owner not amused at all.

"Just because I wanted a hug means I'm a softie?"

"It does when you have never wanted a hug since we've been partners"

"Whatever"

It was obvious that Kato was touch deprived and due to the fact that he didn't mind the hugs, he decided to open an offer that the man wouldn't be able to refuse.

Leaning back in his chair in a casual manner he said "If you need a hug, then just say so"

"What?"

Looking into the shocked orbs of his partner, he replied "You have saved my ass so many times, the least I can so is make sure that you get all the hugs you need, K?"

There wasn't an answer, he didn't expect one.

Standing, he grabbed the other man and hoisted him to his feet.

While the thoughts he had just put there stewed in the other man's mind, he dragged the almost unconscious (at least he seemed) person into the living room.

Letting the body sink into the couch, he proceeded to start a movie, grab two beers, and start some popcorn before returning to find the other man trying to get up.

With a small push, Kato went down.

"Wow, you are tired" He muttered, seeing how a weakling like him could push Kato down

Grabbing at the beer, Kato shot back a grumble.

As the opening credits of some action movie, one that he had blindly picked out rolled; he put the now popped corn between them and stated the obvious for the second time during the day "You're staying over tonight"

"Why?" A grunt resounded

"Because you'll fall of you're motorcycle on the way home"

There was a chuckle "Will not"

"And I'll have to run the headline: 'Exhausted man dies after being run over by traffic' in the newspaper"

"Front page?"

He snorted as a gun fight started "Yeah, a picture of a Kato pancake on the front page would be perfect"

"I am that awesome"

"Very true"

With that the conversation ended with beers in hand, grins on their faces, popcorn in their mouths, and eyes on the movie.

And everything was well, at least for them.


	5. Darkness

_He yawned as fuzzy conciseness came back to reveal lights rushing past at high speed._

_When did they get in a car? The reason didn't matter, but he hoped it was Sumi's car. The one she had tricked out and built from scratch. He had even gotten to help install the weapons, even though his parents weren't allowed to know._

_A blast of cold air rushed past, he snuggled deeper between the two bodies sandwiching him. The sounds of the window being put up and heat being turned simultaneously reached his ears as he leaned his head into the chest of the small of the two._

_In response to his movement, a deep grumble was heard._

" _You know he likes me better" That wasn't true, well it sort of was. She was a better pillow, but he was better at telling stories. She was sweeter, but he was easier going. He was teaching him the art of kickass as it was called, but then again she was teaching him how to use his drawing skills to use in a mechanical way. There were certain things that made them both his favorite, but it didn't really matter. They were both teaching him how to be 'badass' whatever that meant and both made sure that he was always safe. They both knew he loved them both and they loved him, so who was his favorite didn't really matter._

" _Just because you're boobs make a nice pillow does not…" Before the sentence could be finished, the sound of a punch being thrown into the elder's shoulder was heard. A wince wasn't heard, although the spot was rubbed in soreness._

" _I was just kidding"_

" _Of course you were"_

" _I was, I could have said that you're sagging chest was…"_

_Another punch, this one actually got out a groan of pain._

" _Owwwww"_

" _And you said my punches were weak"_

" _I didn't say that, I said my were stronger…that hurt, bitch"_

" _Serves you right"_

" _You are such a hothead"_

" _Takes one to know one"_

" _You really should have more self control"_

" _Says the person who almost killed someone for saying the wrong thing"_

" _That was about Kato"_

" _What did they say?"_

" _They were talking about kicking his 'weak' ass; I wanted to put a bullet in their heads"_

" _Bastards"_

" _My thoughts exactly"_

" _But you didn't kill them why?"_

" _Couldn't"_

" _No gun?"_

" _No gun, but fists make a nice substitute"_

" _You should have…"_

" _Watched my temper I know"_

"… _just broken their legs, much easier and way more satisfying"_

_There was a small chuckle, but no response._

_Where were they going? The question appeared in his mind as the city lights shone through to illuminate the rough, yet gentle hands on steering the car. They should have been home by now, which brought up the same question…_

_But who to ask?_

" _Kiba?"_

_He could almost imagine the grin on the other's face "Didn't know you were awake little guy, whatcha need?"_

_His face scrunched up a bit "I am not…" then there was a yawn "…little!"_

" _You are to us" She gave him a tight squeeze_

" _Am not!" He grumbled, before remembering what he was going to ask "Where are we going?"_

" _To Uncle Sora's" The elder male replied without hesitation, but there was something strange in his voice. Were they not telling him something? Uncle Sora wasn't really his uncle, but since his dad worked with the guy a lot, it seemed like it. They went over to visit a lot; his cousins were younger than him. He was the little man of the family, even if most of the children in the family were younger than him._

" _Does he know about mommy and daddy?" His hands wrapped around hers, just so the memory of blood wouldn't come back. His shoulder was bandaged, although it still ached a little bit. Like usual, they had taken care of him._

" _Yes, he does" The deeper voice stated_

" _That's why he wants for us to come over to stay with him" She added, as her body heat enveloped him._

" _Are we still going to ready the story?"_

" _If you're still awake when we get there" Kiba grinned_

" _Okay…" Challenge accepted, he thought, even though his eyelids drooped._

_It was so warm; he tried to fight off the exhaustion coming over him._

_Had to stay awake…he just had to._

_Must stay awake._

_Must stay…_

_Maybe later they would tell him of his soft snores filling the interior or how cute he looked, but for now all he saw…_

… _were his eyelids._

Darkness receded for a moment, a source of heat drawing him in.

Just like so long ago…

Curling into the heat, his brain forgot where it was or what was going on.

Even the small warning, in the back of his mind, or danger was ignored.

The strong body supporting his head shifted for a moment before settling, he snuggled closer. Soft breaths reached his ears, soothing any worry he might have had.

He just wanted the moment to last, to draw it out as long as possible.

He just wanted to pretend that for once that they were there. That the nightmares were just that, not memories. The longer the illusion stayed in place, the longer he could pretend that this was reality.

The world around him of the green hornet didn't exist; he was lying against Kiba where the two had fallen asleep watching old kung fu movies the night before. Sumi would come and wake them in a minute, but for now he could just enjoy the feeling of safety.

He could pretend that's where he was.

All he wanted for the last fifteen years was…

That nothing had ever changed, even though it had.

…for them to be by his side.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

****

* * *

 

A rising sun brought an end to the darkness, every corner filled with light except one person, who's mind, body, and soul was bathed in the dark shadows. Having embraced it when the hunt began, the dark eyed person felt no remorse.

The other clansmen were still resting, but she had been unable to rest. Standing in the roof of their hotel, the rays hit the silver first. The blade hung by her side, glinting in the first rays of the morning. As the blood in her veins started to settle, breaths became steadier as more time passed after the practice of what was to come.

Once more, it was decided.

Bringing the sharp edge to the correct position, in one fluid movement it cut through an illusion of him. Red crimson flowed down to the hilt, through her fingers, in her mind. Then the dead weight of her enemy would fall, the last of the retched clan would be gone.

And then the revenge, the redemption of her clan would be complete.

A mistake had been made her first attempt, something that would not happen this time.

_Leveling the gun between the child's eyes, a surge of sweet evil filled her._

_He was the only one left, the only important one anyway. The heads were gone and with no 'precious guardians' to protect him, the kid would go down without a sound. It had been brilliance to take revenge when the two were not by his side; there was no one to stop the bullet from killing him._

_No one would stop her…_

_A finger curling around the trigger, it was time._

" _KATO!"_

_Knowing the voices, the ones burned into her mind as evil, jarred the shot. Not able to stay, to see if it had hit its mark, her feet hit the ground in an attempt to escape the person she knew was chasing._

_Damn it! How could she have let herself be distracted by that?-!-? After all the training, after all the meditation, after everything; she still screwed up! She would just have to go back and finish the job._

_The footsteps stopped as hers did, she turned to see two glaring eyes._

" _Come near him and I will kill you" The only slightly older male growled, she knew he meant it_

" _Why don't you right now?" Sinking into a defensive stance, she knew that the offer tempted him from the gleam of anger in his eyes. They would go to the death, there was no doubt._

_When she was sure that he was about to attack, his head shook before giving her one last glare._

" _I don't have time for you, Kato needs me" Turning to give a look over his shoulder, he was about to go back when she hissed a venom filled sentence._

" _He will die with a bullet to the brain, just like his parents"_

_The other didn't give her another look or a snarled sentence coming from his mouth before he was gone._

" _Over my dead body"_

After all those years, after she had come so close…

But this time, nothing was going to stop her.

Who was there to oppose her? Not the two, they were dead. No one could have survived the explosion, they were gone. Leaving her, him, and the perfect way to die.

Nothing would get in the way.

As she led the assault, the murder of the only remaining angel, nothing would go wrong.

It would be perfect.

Just like she imagined it.

The blade was slid back into it's holder as the sun engulfed her dark person.

Today was the day, it would be…

…perfect.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

****

* * *

 

There was a bright light as his eyes opened.

Due to the sun, he groaned and shifted to try to avoid the beams of warmth.

There was something heavy on his right side, but he ignored it. Finally somewhat satisfied with his position, he proceeded to go back to sleep. But that goal was interrupted by something, or someone, moving. Looking to where the movement was, he found it to be the first shocking thing of the moment.

Jaw about to fall off, he watched his man bury deeper into his shoulder with a small smile on his face. Seeming content with his spot, the breathing of Kato grew soft. One of his hands was snaked down the younger man's back, as one of the genius's was laid over her stomach. It was obvious he was still asleep, but he could care less.

What had happened last night to cause his anti-touch brother to treat him like a stuffed animal? Not moving in fear of waking Kato and having to deal with the reaction of the Chinese man of the position they were in, he tried to answer the question.

He found that he couldn't, which slightly pissed him off.

But on the other hand, he didn't really mind the man being next to him. He wasn't gay; there was just something about Kato.

Something special…

His other hand was curled to his chest, his legs in a slight fetal position; his body language reflecting comfort with no fear at all. This was probably the most relaxed he had ever seen Kato, but if he didn't say it was the cutest thing ever…he'd be lying big time.

"Oh my god" Eyes darting to see another person, he discovered a maid

"Shhh" He managed to get his other hand to signal for her to keep it down

"Sorry Mr. Reid" A small smile came with the statement, but she knew he wasn't mad. In the back of his mind, he knew she was thinking that they had been doing more than watching a movie and that they were more than brothers, but for now she kept those to herself.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven sir"

"Thank you" She nodded before leaving, he tried to think of a way to get out of the loose but strong clutches of the cute kitty Kato. He had to get going, there were two businesses to visit and who knew how long it would take to find them. Then he had to find the two guards, which wouldn't be easy with all the steps they had taken to fall off the earth.

But he had to escape the long arms first.

Lifting his arm off the man's back, he found it difficult to not feel the warmth, wanting to lay it there forever. Unfortunately he couldn't, now it was time for Kato's arm. That was going to be interesting considering that the darker skinned person had reflexes like a…kitty and would punch him out a reflex if he made a wrong move.

Slowly he lifted it, while scooting away an inch at a time. It seemed to be working since he was seeing no signs of the other person stirring. Almost there…

"Sumi…five more minutes…" He froze as the muttered words came out

Who was she? He questioned in his mind as he waited to see if the man would wake up. She must be the girl in the photo, he had a name! If he ever escaped this human puzzle, he would know who he was looking for.

But there were no more movements; he laid the arm by his man's side.

He looked so perfect just laying there; to bad he had to go.

Quickly changing into more casual clothing than was usual of him, which included jeans and a batman symbol shirt (he rather wear one of the awesome green hornet shirts that had just come out, but Kato had commented that he was being way too obvious about their identity. That had lead to a fight where eventually the shirt had been retired because the kitty bastard won the war), he passed the still sleeping form of Kato when he was about to go out the door.

Whenever the dude woke up, he would be slightly worried.

Then he saw the perfect solution.

Grabbing a pen, he began to write something that he hoped…no that he knew would brighten the man's day.

When it was done he left it in an appropriate place and with one last look left to climb into his car. He was driving himself today, one less person to know about his whereabouts if Kato asked the staff, which he probably would.

Driving to the first address, he knew this was the right thing to be doing.

It was person hunting time and he was determined to find the prizes!

Like he had done at the fair in the past, he was going to win a prize for his special someone.

Kato would be very pleased, well maybe not after he woke up to the note he had left.

Oh well, he thought, as the sun rose taller.

Before it set, he was going to have his duo.

Then he was going to drink in celebration with his man…

…Kato.


	6. His

Damn.

The warmth was gone.

A grumble escaped him; he hoped that would bring the person back. Waiting for a moment, which was too long for him, the warmth was fading; he knew no one was coming. Frowning, the half asleep man groaned before deciding to take the situation into his own hands. He was going to find Kiba and squeeze the life out of him for leaving him; he doubted that the other man had left the couch despite Sumi's warnings to get his lazy ass up.

He blindly groped around for the warm body that once been next to him, with the wish to stay in the dream like state of fuzziness. Peaceful thoughts, dreams, had been going though his mind instead of the nightmares that had haunted. The feeling was one that he craved, just like the slight touch of another, a hug.

Finding nothing, the kitty man sat up and rolled his neck before opening his eyes...

To come face to face with a yellow sticky note.

What the…the thought registered that it might be a good idea to actually see if there was an actual reason for a note to be on his forehead.

Pulling it off, he rubbed his eyes to focus them to read it. He grinned knowing the messy handwriting before even knowing what the curves and squiggles spelled. Then his face frowned before a faint smile graced it once more.

_Gone for the day, don't worry about me._

_Be back soon, enjoy a day off._

_Just_ _**stay away** _ _from the catnip; you know what it does to you._

_And yes, I went there. ; P_

_-Britt_

"That little bastard" By now he was softly chuckling, but that was soon overwhelmed by the first line. 'Don't worry'...why would he?

The Green Hornet business was dangerous and Britt wasn't the most liked person on the planet, but that didn't mean that he had to be with him at all times. Even though he wanted to be. The rumor troubled him, blood thirsty hunters was not what they needed right now. He could take in one of them, but if they attacked at once he wasn't sure...but he would have to protect himself and... What if the three decided to go for the play boy?

The thought registered as his blood froze.

They could go after...

Five seconds later he was changed and on his motorcycle, ninja speed, as Britt called it, came in handy. Unfortunately he had not brushed his teeth or his hair, but it didn't matter. His hunch was that Britt had gone to the paper and as the motor rumbled to send vibrations into his body, worry filled him. What if something had happened while he was sleeping? He would never forgive himself.

The road flew beneath him as the speeds reached high above what was legal, but he didn't care.

Then anger replaced the fear.

If they touched one hair on his Britt's head he would...

Wait...his Britt?

What the?

Where had that come from?

They were close, Xoing Di, but where...didn't matter, now wasn't the time to figure it all out. Then the memory of the night, the warmth, came back and the truth hit him like a green hornet gas pellet. His snuggle partner had been Britt, the other, the illusion, was dead. He could have completely screwed his relationship with his best friend in the world, but on the other hand it brought a thought to the surface. He had enjoyed, no been filled with pleasure, being close to the white boy; even if he was exhausted doing so. After having gotten used to the attitude egomaniac named the Green Hornet, it was almost relaxing being around him.

With this new revelation, he decided.

It felt right for the two words to be together.

His Britt.

A purr resounded in him at the ownership in the two words. In the back of his mind he knew that the name of Kitty might actually be correct even though he was an angel.

The anger came back as the tall building he aimed for came into view. Honking horns and curses didn't reach his ears as he focused on precisely swerving through the angry traffic. They could go to hell; he had to get to Britt…

He knew what they were capable of, he had seen the results.

_"What happened to him?"_

_"Every inch of his body was burned..."_

_A moment of silence as the clan respected the dead. Then one spat the last part in anger, everyone knew this would not go unavenged._

_"...and he was awake for every moment of it"_

Then his bipolar emotions switched back to fear, if that happened to his man…

It wasn't going to; he was going to find him and not leave his side.

He would kill Britt himself before that happened if worse came to worse. The thought resonated and echoed, would he actually do that; would he be capable of killing Britt to protect him?

He wasn't sure, how can you answer a question like that?

It didn't need to be answered, not now and hopefully not ever. He was going to find his man and hug him before slapping him for the catnip comment and leaving him behind. Then they were going to go at the day's business like usual, because a panicked Britt concerned about ninjas attacking was not a good thing.

He was going to be glued to the man's side...

Keep all the stupid ideas out of his head, to protect what was his.

_Don't worry about me…_

"But I do, always" The words were said without him being aware as he peeled into a parking garage and hunted the nearest, not the legalist, spot to park.

Two things were certain in his mind.

Britt was his.

And if they wanted to kill Britt,  **his**  man…

To do anything to him, even talk to him.

…they would have to get through him first.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

****

* * *

 

The sun streamed through the slightly tinted windows, a sweet breeze coming from the downed window. The radio was supplying background tunes, well it had been, now he was singing along to a genre he usually hated…rap.

" _This is 10 percent luck"_

"Twenty percent skill"

" _Fifteen percent concentrated power of will"_

"Five percent pleasure"

" _And a hundred percent reason…"_

"To remember the Green Hornet's name bitches!"

Chuckling at his own behavior, he knew he should try to act his own age.

Nah, it was more fun this way.

The excitement filling his body, one that could be compared to when he had first donned the mask, was shaving more years off his maturity then was usually lacking. The mystery of Kato could finally be solved; well that's at least what he hoped.

The tires stopped turning as he turned his head to look at his first stop.

Three people, two a mystery, in his pocket; he slowly climbed out. Locking the car, he tried to steady his nerves. But these was one of the people that protect Kato when he was younger, which meant that due to the fact that his man was a kick ass ninja then the two would be badass ass kicking ninjas.

But maybe it would tell him what was going on with his man and solve his questions at the same time.

The door to the building was guarded, well more like there were two burly men leaning against the wall, and he felt their eyes glare with a threat to tear him apart. Gulping, he pushed into the hall to evade their looks.

"What are you here for?"

Turning around to find himself face to face with a secretary/ female bouncer in heels, he hid his hands in his pockets to avoid the lady from seeing that they were shaking.

"Well?"

Another glare, say something you idiot!

"Um…" He cleared his throat in an attempt to calm himself down.

Did. Not. Work.

He needed Kato here, bad.

"…I need to speak with Kai Silverton"

He had actually gotten the name out; he was tempted to grin widely. But he decided against it since her glare narrowed instead of going away.

"About?" Demanding, he wondered in the back of his mind if she got paid well for be as intimidating as she was.

"Family matters"

He felt his body be given a look over, but the answer was accepted. Why? Just another question to ask the man he was about to see.

"Right down the hall, last door on the right" The muttered words reached his ears as his feet carried him that way.

Dark wood faced him as he glared at it.

It was the only thing standing in his way from answers and yet he was scared to open it.

Come on, he growled at himself, grow some balls!

He was always teasing Kato and yet he was being a scared cat…more like kitty…himself!

Knocking once he wasn't expecting an answer, yet it came a moment later.

"Come in"

A low, rough voice; the possibilities of the man behind the voice filled him head.

He really needed Kato with him for back up.

But he was doing this for Kato…

FOR KATO! The mini army in his mind roared as they proceeded to charge his uncertainty head on.

With the man in mind, he entered ready for anything and everything…

A black chair turned to present the person, or one of the people, he, and perhaps Kato, had been looking for. But then something stopped him and almost made his jaw drop.

…except the man sitting in front of him.


	7. One of Two

_It was all clear; nothing was in sight, for now._

_But as the moon rose taller and the streets grew darker, he knew that they were out there._

_Shadows lurking in the blackness, like the ravens they were._

_The bitch had more than likely already informed her clan, the hunt would be on. He increased the speed of the car that much more, knowing that a goal at the very top of his list was to tell the others._

_They were sitting ducks right now, even though rumors of the clan heads' deaths had already gone through the ranks. But they didn't know that they weren't rumors, that their blood had been spilt. They would know soon though, they were almost there…_

" _Shi wo ren na r dan?" A small, sleepy voice slurred as two eyes opened just a small bit. They had been traveling for a while, but he had expected the little guy to sleep all the way through the trip. [Translation from Mandarin Chinese: Are we there yet?]_

_While they were expected to speak English, the growing language in Shanghi, their traditional Chinese was very good despite the western influences in their lives. Sometimes they just sunk into speaking it, it came naturally after all._

" _Ji tian shi, yun yi ge shao geng" He replied as a small hand hung on his arm as the person pulled closer. It was a pain sometimes, but having Kato around was a good thing. [Almost angel, just a little bit more]_

" _Ai! Shen da yue wo?" His partner pouted with the little person in car switching sides. Obviously she wasn't happy, but she would just have to deal. [Hey! What about me?]_

" _Sorry Sumi" Kato yawned, which brought smiles to their faces, him more than her._

" _And he likes you better" Taking one hand off the steering wheel he reached over to poke her which she quickly slapped away his hand. Snickering while doing so, he was soon joined by the smallest person in the car, who looked like he was on the verge of passing out again._

" _Shut it" Her person shifted to punch him in the shoulder_

" _Bitch" He grumbled, still a smile on his face_

" _My arm hurts"_

_He looked away from the road for a moment, to where Kato was cradling the wounded limb while hanging loosely but firmly to his arm._

" _It'll be better soon" She cooed softly, but as she looked back him, he saw the guilt in her orbs. The same was probably in his eyes, although his heart ached to se angel that way._

_Silently he cursed himself, how could he have left Kato alone in that situation? It had been his decision; they could have followed the heads as bodyguards. But two others had taken the job, take a night off the others had said. If only he had checked up on the situation sooner, then perhaps this would have never happened!_

_It was his fault, although someone thought otherwise…_

" _It's not your fault" The other teen said softly, snoozes of a now sleeping angel heard_

" _I know, but ai ya, why did we not go?" It could have all been avoided, nothing had ever happened to Kato or the heads when they were near. And the one time they weren't, four clansmen (including the two most important figures) get killed and Kato almost gets shot! [Damn]_

" _Because we had just pulled a high risk drug deal remember? We needed to sleep" Without looking, he knew that dark circles were imbedded under her eyes, because they were under his own. He deal had been successful, although waiting for hours by the docks to secure the shipment, not including the raid carried out by the ravens, had taken alt of energy. After being told to get some rest, they had; before waking up to decide to check up on Kato. Finding the bodies of the guards had lead them rushing through the streets, any and all exhaustion disappearing._

_He felt he could take on an army, she more than likely could too, but the adrenalin would wear off soon and they would collapse just like the snoozing bundle that was almost in his lap._

" _Yeah, yeah" He waved her off, even though he knew she was right._

_A 'hmph' was all that was heard, but he knew she would punch him later._

_Looming darkness lifted just a bit as a tall building appeared, safety was just within reach…_

" _Dao di" She breathed, as they approached the place they knew where Kato would be safe. All sense of safety for themselves had been eclipsed by the little guy, he came first._

_Period, end of discussion. [Finally]_

_Then there was a bright light, one that almost blinded him._

_Interestingly enough, the building had imploded._

" _SHIT!" He quickly wheeled the car around, speeding away as the building burned in the background._

" _We have to find somewhere safe" Absent mindedly, she stroked the soft black hair of the one they had been assigned to protect, but their own accord and by the clan._

_But there was no where safe…_

_Didn't matter, Yuki would have to get through him first._

_Over his dead body._

A knock interrupted his thought, memories from a time which he could go back to.

But that was another lifetime, fifteen years of pain, ago.

Just another thing to think about while businesses went on as usual.

"Come in" He almost sighed, growling the sentence in the deep voice that she had teased him about so long ago.

They had lost contact about a year ago, although it was more like they didn't speak to each other. Each blamed themselves for what happened, seeing the other just brought up the guilt of what had happened that night. But he still knew where she was, and vice versa, just incase anything happened. The last time they had met, half his office had been destroyed from them going at it from being angry. Not at each other, but at their joint failure. It had ended in her sobbing and him holding her close, then she had walked out…and that was it. That had been the last time he had heard from her, although he knew she was fine, must be just one of those things that had come from working together so long…or maybe it was that they were…

A white man entered, dressed just as casually as he was, although in his personal opinion, he looked better in black. Well they were dark jean, not black. Kato had once said that he looked better in white shirts, something stupid about 'it makes you look happier', but he wore white almost everyday, just to remember the angel.

With a thought about readjusting his collar, which was the male version of a slight see through white, just like the rest of the shirt, he gave the man a full look over.

Brown hair, eyes to match, a muscled body but not as lean as others he had seen, and then there was the shocked face. Not surprising, considering that that he was as close to six feet as Chinese people usually came as 5'8. When sitting, he still was a very imposing figure or so he had been told. It was probably that, combined with his eyes looking over every inch of the man, which was causing the reaction that he had come to actually expect. Plus the shadow on his lower face, due to him not feeling like shaving over the last week, didn't help the cause to prove how much he didn't look like a badass.

Or maybe it was the fact that he was swinging a knife slowly between his fingers by the blade. Could have been any of the reasons, but who knew, maybe the dude was just happy to see him.

That could explain the happy smile that had just broken out across his face.

Time to find out who he was and what he was doing here "Who are you and what is your business?"

"Britt Reid…" So that's where he seemed slightly familiar from. Although he mostly stayed out of that world, he vaguely knew of the Reids. They were newspaper people and that's really all you needed to know. Britt eyed the chair in front of the dark wooden desk, he motioned to it and the lighter man too a seat "And I am here to…well, find you"

This raised one of his eyebrows in confusion, and a little in amusement. He repeated the sentence, just to make sure he had it right "Find me?"

"That's right" This 'Britt' person seemed very flustered, but motivated, when asking

His own curiosity kicked in, what was this guy doing here?

"Any particular reason you wanted to find me?" Maybe the answer would give him a clue to why the guy was wasting his time, although he had time to waste, nothing really important was lined up for the day. He could use a distraction, so what the hell?

The answer wasn't given though; instead another question was asked "What is your real name?"

This caught him, way, off guard.

"What?" There was no way that this random stranger could know about…

"It's obvious that Kai isn't your real name; there are no confirmed records of you ever existing, although you did a stand up job faking it" A joker like smile was on the other's face, which pissed him off

"What game are you playing?" He hissed, the knife now gripped fiercely in his right hand

If he needed to hand out threats, to kill someone, to protect his identity and hers as well, he would, no matter who the hell this white boy was. It had worked for this long, everything had worked up to this point, and one person wasn't going to ruin it all.

"Now Mr. Azra, calm down, I just have one question" His blood froze at the name, it had been so long since he had been called that, even though the wing on his wrist proved that he was an angel through and through.

"How do you know that name?" Throwing the knife to stand in the wood, he grabbed the t-shirt's collar to pull the person closer to his as he stood to his full height. This could be very bad, the news concerning the name had died down after what had happened, but there had been rumors about the other clan circling…perhaps he was a spy, sent to find him and her. If that was the case, the light skinned wouldn't leave the room alive.

"The picture said a lot" What kind of a cryptic answer was that? He was about the shake the man and demand for him to tell the truth when a white hand started to reach towards its owner's hip.

He tensed, eying both the motion and his knife, ready to pull the sharp metal out and use it.

"Not a gun" Britt said, reading his mind in a sense. A moment later, the hand pulled out…a picture? His grip loosened just a bit, although he was ready to slam a head into his desk in a moment's time.

"Is this you?"

Then his grip completely slackened, as a familiar memory filled his vision. He had once had a picture, just like this one, but it had been lost in the fire; just like everything else.

They had been smiling then, so happy.

It had been so long ago, but still a small smile had been on his somewhat matured face. The same face that was now worn from the stress of the years that had followed, the skin rough from knife fights and nightly brawls.

Kato…

He was so cute in the image, what about now? Was he still the same kid that had been a ladies man, just like him, from the age of five or the angel that the entire clan loved; both him and her being no exception?

So many questions…

"Yes" His voice was soft, guilt and sadness rising up in him

Then it was snatched away from him, he growled. Perhaps he could beat up the white boy just to have the image, just to stare at it and try to remember all the good times instead of what had happened…

"Now tell me…" He cut him off

"No, you tell me; where did you get that photo?" He wanted answers and he was going to get them, he always did.

The other man's mouth twitched slightly in amusement before he answered which irritated him, did he think this was a game? "I'll tell you, if you tell me who you are"

Making deals was never something he liked to do, especially to people like the idiot in front of him, but the nagging feeling that he was missing something influenced his answer so much that he couldn't say no "Fine"

"What's your real name?" It was a question he had lied about for years, he really didn't want to answer, but he had to keep up his end of the bargain.

Here goes nothing…

"Kiba Azra"

A smile came to the other's face, a thank you of sorts.

He was about to ask his own question when the man said "Now we just have to find the girl, then you'll have you're answer"

He was tempted to head butt the guy for even mentioning who he was talking about. Then punch him several times for depriving him of his answer about the image. Mostly the head butting though.

"How about we just keep this between us guys?" He suggested in a nonthreatening way, or the most nonthreatening way he could without saying 'go near her and I will tear your head off!'

She was all he had left, he wasn't going to screw up like he had with Kato, and the same mistakes were not going to be made. This meant that no one was going near her anytime soon unless they had a damn good reason.

"No can do, I need both of you"

Damn, he sighed.

The younger man headed for the door, he pulled his knife from the wood before walking down the hallway with him. The receptionist gave him a look, which he returned to show that nothing was wrong.

"Hold my call, I'll be back" She nodded obediently, Britt smirked

"She scared the crap of me when I came through" It was his turn to grin

And as they exited the building, he nodded to the two men guarding it, who tipped their hats back in respect.

"And them?" He asked, wondering if they were doing what they were paid for.

"Somewhat" It was obvious that that was white boy for 'hell yes'

"Good" A chuckle escaped his mouth, the first in a while

He followed the younger, shorter man to a black car which reminded him slightly of the old car she used to have back then. Just a coincidence he waved it off as, although it was interesting to find that Chinese labeled a specific button with the characters for GH. What did that stand for? Just another thing to ask.

"Her name is Sumi correct?"

The name registered, he groaned.

"Yep" He tired not to let is voice show his falling attitude

"Is she nice?" He snorted what a stupid question.

"As nice as a hellfire snake" He muttered under his breath so that it couldn't be heard by the other.

And yet it was "Really?"

This time he didn't answer; only roll his eyes as the car started moving.

Yes, he was pissed that he wasn't getting his answer.

And yes, he wondered if he just screwed himself over in a business deal.

Didn't matter though.

Because now they had to go find Sumi, which in every sense of the statement…

Because if there was one thing she was more of than he was, it was that she was the bigger hothead.

And she didn't take well to people, especially smartass white boys.

…was a trip to hell.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

****

* * *

 

Taking another sip, she found the cup to be empty.

Grumbling, the blonde called her assistant to fill it up…again.

Lenore Case, also known as Casey, had not left her desk for hours. She had ingested about five cups of coffee due to the fact that she hadn't slept at all after she had sent Britt home the night before. Instead she had been at the Bugle, where she was now, looking for information.

Not that she didn't mind being where she was, she wondered if Britt had actually found the two.

But it didn't matter, as a new piece of information came up on the screen.

Her orbs quickly scanned it, her mouth dropping.

Azra

Rava

Rivals, enemies.

The first had been destroyed, as had the second; although there were rumors.

She picked up the phone, hoping to god that Britt would pick up his damn phone! The playboy was notorious for not answering, but he was in danger trying to find these two and he needed to know.

Then Kato entered, turning her world even more upside down than it already was.

Something was wrong, everything about him screamed panic.

There was only one reason he would be that way…she had sent Britt to the two, had something happened?

What had she done?

"Where is Britt?"


	8. Worried Kato, Friendly Britt

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Again he scanned the room; nothing came into sight among the many employees of the Sentinel that resembled his partner. No goofy laugh echoed the room, not a patch of brown curls was in his gaze. Not a hint of a prank being played, there wasn't another rejected cup of coffee sliding down the wall; no hint that Britt had been here today.

Where was he?

But that's what the note had said, that he would be here. The playboy didn't lie to him, except if it was about girls or something along those lines, so those damned Ravens must have gotten to him!

Don't panic, he tried to chant, this is not the time to panic.

Despite that ineffective try, panic levels in his mind, body, and soul grew even higher, despite the fact that he didn't even think that was possible, as he walked across the floor of the highest level towards the target of his worry office would be.

Oh, he didn't walk. It was more of a running power walk, his body language giving off all the emotions going through his body while his face, on the other hand, was emotionless. His eyes were locked solely on the office door, hoping that he would soon see two brown eyes lock with his to wash all the worry away. People that blocked his way were pushed from the path without any remorse, although most stayed out of his path anyway due to the fact that he was known as a 'kickass ninja' as Britt had idiotically advertised to the entire building.

He felt the eyes of them all on him, his tattered state of wrinkled clothes and disaster zone hair, combing every inch; whispers soon filled his ears. Some thought that he had come from a warzone or that maybe (like Britt joked every day) that the day had finally come that he had gotten laid and that's why he was such a mess.

If only they knew…

"Did something happen to Britt?" Mike Axford, the 'dad' figure that had taken over for the late and somewhat great James Reid, seemed to have connected the dots. Although it was probably the easiest conclusion to come to due to the fact that he was Britt's man (damn that comment by the playboy) and that they were almost always together.

Sorry, he silently answered. He couldn't, no wouldn't let his mind be opened to the possibilities that could be happening to Britt. Everything had been cut off as he had focused on getting to the office, letting his mind open would not be beneficial to the situation in anyway shape or form.

He ignored the older man, turning the corner to find another pair of orbs glued to him.

Casey was sitting at her desk with wide eyes at his entrance, a phone held to her ear. It seemed that panic transferred to her as guilt, regret,  **fear**  radiated across her face in a few seconds.

This did not help the swirling vortex of butterflies known as his stomach, did she know something?

"Where is Britt?" His accent was thick, he was panting due to the fact that the elevator had taken too long and he had ran up a million flights of stairs, but he didn't care. He hoped, no wanted, that she would answer that the green hornet was in his office or in the break room, something other than he had been kidnapped by his enemies and slaughtered! Anything but that, he rather be forced to leave Britt forever than see him be hurt.

His Britt, the ownership did not help his very frazzled nerves this time.

The only thing that would help would be to hear her reply that 'He's in his office, why?'

And the only thing that would vanquish the fear, the panic, and the memories would be when he kicked the wooden door down and backhanded Britt. The slap would not be soft, a reminder that he was NOT to be left behind again, that they always needed to be together. All the worry would go into that one, simple, forceful, motion; that the thought of seeing the lifeless body of him would be even more shattering than the hell that had happened so long ago.

Then he would hug him, not caring that that the entire office would be watching, the only thing that would be on his mind was the warm body of a smartass millionaire in the safety of his arms. Anything and everything else would just be footnote in the very back of his mind, at the very bottom of the list of things he cared about.

And that chain of events would begin with him hearing a simple, normally positive sentence…

"I don't know"

…there was a small pop.

Some would muse that it was the sound of his neck snapping when it turned from Britt's office door to Casey's gaze, others might say that it was where his jaw hit the floor before quickly reattaching itself.

But the truth was, that it was where the brain aneurism that had been building had finally hit. The sound was his brain exploding at those three words, three tiny, simple words.

The blank stare that was on his face must be scaring the office, which would explain the looks he was getting of worry and fear.

But he didn't care.

"Where is he?" It was a whispered sentence, a repeated question that she had already answered.

But it didn't matter.

"I don't know"

It was that same response.

The same damn thing that he wished to hell that he had dreamed to heard.

He let out a small chuckle, the people around him slightly flinching as he walked up Lenore's desk. Setting a firm stance with his hands flat against the desk, there was a faint smile on his lips.

"What do you mean?"

She tried to stutter a response, the grin dropped. "I-I…"

Britt had predicted it multiple times, where the time would finally come where something, anything, would do it. Nothing would stand in his way then, no one. That he would just snap and just lose it …

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?"

…turns out that time was now.

* * *

Silence.

A void only broken by the air conditioning and a small stream of rock from the radio, both of which had been turned on by him.

Nothing had been said between them, absolutely nothing at except for the on comment that was driving him crazy. What did the person next to him mean when he said that this person they were going to meet was as nice as a hell fire snake?

There was no way that she was that mean, but then again he thought back to the times where Kato had gone off on him. If his blue wombat was like that once in a while, then she…suddenly he was not too happy to see this Sumi figure.

But he was going to, it was for Kato.

And if he had to face what sounded like the queen of the ninja bitches from hell, he'd it. These two, one of which was staring out the window into space, were the closest thing that the kitty bastard had to family. The man deserved it after everything, his hands tightened around the steering wheel, and he would be damned if he didn't try.

But then the picture of a Chinese woman with an evil glare scarier than Casey's filled his mind and suddenly he was filled with fear, something that didn't happen often. By often, he meant…every time Casey tried to kill him which was everyday….but other than that it was never. He wasn't sure how the kitty man actually was able to calm her, hard to believe that anything was soft in the man with a guardian that was playing with a knife in his spare time as the man he knew to be Kiba was doing now.

The silver sliver was swung gently between the finger tips of its owner, the movement seeming so fluid that he couldn't (even after only being with the man for a matter of moments, knowing nothing about him) imagine the blade not being there.

"Ai ya" His passenger grumbled, interrupting his thoughts [Translation from Mandarin: Damn]

"What, the music not your cup tea?" He asked, instinctively turning the sound down like he did every time when Kato got that look on his face that said 'I will tear the radio out and shove it down your throat', not a pretty sight seeing the man's face scrunched like that.

And considering that he was going into foreign territory where someone might just kill him and the only man who could help him rising shotgun was sounding very happy, he really hoped that turning down the music would help convince the stranger to help him, like Kato did during the times they kicked ass.

"Nothing, su tong" His eyebrows scrunched together as the somewhat familiar accent washed over him, the words meaning nothing to his American self, although he knew it was not a compliment. [White boy]

But the attitude, he recognized it and knew that he had the right man. Firm, soft spoken, and both were terrible liars; he in the back of his mind wondered what else had rubbed off on his Kitty man.

"Zenmele?" It was a simple word that he had looked up one night, when Kato had gone into a Chinese rant, none of which he could understand, hoping that it would get the man to speak English again. [What's up?]

There was only silence as two dark eyes looked at him in slight shock and surprise. Yes, the white boy can speak Chinese, a few words anyway, he thought while rolling his eyes

"Zenmegaode?" Another phrase memorized in haste to avoid getting hit by the random objects Kato was throwing, something that had happened when he had possibly fired on of the Black Beauty's missiles at the man; POSSIBLY, there was no proof on the matter. [What's wrong?]

Then there was an amused snort "Figures that the white boy speaks Chinese" followed by a low chuckle.

This made him want to meet Sumi even more, because Kato did not chuckle lowly; it was a higher pitched or he just flat out laughed hysterically. This was probably one of the reasons he rarely did anything in response to a joke other than a shy smile or smirk. If Kato got his cool demander from this guy and the laugh from her, what else came from the two to get the man known as Kato?

Curiosity was eating at him, but first he had to make sure that the person who could protect him if things got violent, who he hoped would, was happy. Because if this girl, this woman decided that he was a threat and he was to be decimated on sight, he wanted this perfect stranger, one that he had just met, one that was intertwined in his home slice's (Kato kept complaining that he acted black sometimes, he disagreed even though the kitty wasn't the first person to tell him that) life, to have his back.

"Only a few words out of necessity" He responded with his own chuckle, one that people have said was obnoxious (but what did they know?) as he turned the Black Beauty down a side street that looked a bit shadier than the clean cut city center that he was used to. But he had expected that, knowing the people he was dealing with were more than likely more comfortable in the rougher parts of town.

"Necessity of what?" The older man turned to him, general curiosity and amusement on his face.

"Ka…Crazy guy I know" That was close he thought, he had almost given away the whole reason that he was getting the two of them together. Who knew what would have happened if he had let the guy known? He didn't want to think about that, it would have more than likely been bad.

"Hmmm…" Kiba wasn't giving anything away as he mused the almost slip up, it made him nervous and he did what he did best when he was nervous.

He talked.

"He was yelling at me this one time, in Chinese, for god knows what…" He blabbered, hoping that the guy hadn't caught onto anything.

"I know the feeling, Sumi does the same thing" The sentence, said out of partial sarcasm and partially out of pity, revealed that the person they were going to meet was where Kato got his fiery temper that rarely showed itself.

"So I picked up a few words to ask him what the hell was going on" The mood in the car had relaxed a bit, but he was still on edge. Just a bit, but that was perfectly understandable considering the situation.

There was a nod of understanding from the other person, which made him feel a bit better when he made the final turn into the parking lot of the unknown. It was a garage, answering his questions of where Kato got his mechanic skills, on that was not very busy at the moment, an advantage for them.

Stepping out of his shelter, the car he knew had more weapons and shielding than Fort fucking Knox, he watched the body language of the other man to wonder how to proceed.

The other man did not look like he wanted to be here, in no way, shape, or form, but as they both stood still in waiting for the other's move; a look of firm calm came over his face. It was obvious that they shouldn't be here, but that the man didn't care because of the photo.

"Ready?"

Silently he nodded before following the leader, a role that he was not familiar with considering that he was the Green Hornet with his nameless (but awesome) sidekick.

The smell of sweat and motor oil hit him when the sunny sky faded to a darker garage, a few grease monkeys taking notice and glaring at him and the man. But why would they do that, the two got along right?

But as wrenches turned into handguns, he felt himself huddle a bit behind his new friend, just like he would if he was with Kato; and wonder if he had made a huge assumption.

The two had to get along; it wasn't like they were enemies or anything….

"Stay behind me" It was a low, protective tone that he dare not disobey as two dark eyes never left the threatening forces of the mechanics. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Kato had been told the same thing once, or many times.

Then a thought hit him, why the hell was he hiding behind someone when he should be telling them about Kato? It was just a misunderstanding that was causing the other's minions to threaten them like this.

But then again, it could all just be a stupid mistake on his part, an assumption that might just get the two of them killed.

He really hoped it was the first as the sound of two high heels clicking against the concrete came closer and closer.

"I told you to never come back here"

The voice was cold, and yet angry at the same time with a pinch of sadness mixed in.

Two dark eyes glared at the older man, not giving him a look.

"Sorry, couldn't stay away" Kiba chuckled dryly, seemingly unconcerned with the gun pointed at them.

There was not a response from the person as two lips pursed for a moment before a breath was taken. The gun was lowered as its owner stepped out of the shadows, the mechanics going back to work with an unspoken order.

Gun by her side, the other half of the Kato puzzle asked a question that it was obvious that both the strangers wanted to know.

"Who the hell are you?"

Both pairs of dark eyes looked in his direction.

Showtime, he thought.

This was going to be interesting…


	9. Fallen

_Shadows surrounded, as did the multiple bodies that had been in her way. But they had easily been taken care of, silently and effectively of course._

_The only sound was that of the can in her hand._

_Inside was liquid that sloshed dangerously close to the opening every time a step was taken. To most, the fumes would have been sickening as they wafted not only from the container but from the area that it had been spilt upon, but to her they were delicious._

_Gasoline, which was now spread across not only the floor but the bodies as well, would end it all._

" _H-help" In the blurry sight the person must have mistaken her for another, it would be that hard with dark hair and dark eyes to match, even though the two clans were entirely different, but it didn't matter; one would finally win the war._

" _It'll be okay" She cooed in a soothing tone before the small pop of a silencer ended the enemy's life._

_The unknown person meant nothing to her, but being merciful was something that she hopes will come back. Karma was something that would finally come back to kick your ass, perhaps mercy would too at the moment of death. When her time ran out, perhaps someone would give a quick blow before the pain settled in._

_A bullet to the head instead of burning to death was mercy, any doubt would leave her with guilt; something she had mostly cut from her life years ago. It was almost gone, the afterthoughts of challenging an action, except…_

_If only it could have worked, why did she say no? It had been a simple question, but so complicated that it had twisted every part of her inside out as the world shifted where up was down. She didn't give a life with him a chance; the thought had never been a possibility, even though she wished it could have been. Locked away for years, the last time she had seen him had been a lifetime ago. The old part of her, the part that had loved him, had been replaced with the toned icy self that was planning to avenge her clan._

_A few years back, she wouldn't have believed that she would have hurt anyone. She had been a gentle soul, like her brother, but tonight it would all end, he would burn._

_A tear rolled down her hidden cheek, he was nothing to her; why was she crying?_

_It didn't matter; she wiped the single drop away before continuing towards the door._

" _You okay?" The figure that had been guarding the door while being look out asked_

" _Yeah" It would be hard to fool the person, after all they were synched to the point where they almost knew what the other was thinking before a word was spoken. But giving a hint that he, one that had been ripped from her life by her clan, was on her mind would be disastrous; especially if…_

" _Are we ready?" A cold voice asked, joining the two of them from the shadows of the looming house._

… _Yuki found out._

" _Oh course, you need to have more faith in us sister dearest" She slightly smirked as the teen beside her replied dryly to the question. He just barely got away with being a sarcastic bastard while being a quiet and calm person; but he always had it together._

_Unlike her; who right now wanted to partially burn everything to the ground and partially who wanted to warn and protect him._

_The eldest in their trio just rolled her eyes as the sound of an engine echoed in their ears. Ditching the can with silent tosses into the dark void of the house, climbing into the trees by the road for a better view of the chaos to come was easy as pie._

_The car was an exact match to the one described to them by their father, mere hours before his death; but his life was not going to be taken in waste, the ones responsible had been finished…_

" _Boom time" Yuki smirked a sick smile, referring to the dynamite that had been laid at the center support beam if the fire failed. It might have been seen as over kill to some, but one way or another it was assured that the building was coming down to become wreckage._

_Their home was now rubble in an attack that had come in the wee hours of the evening; the Angels would soon know the same._

… _except for the occupants of the vehicle driving towards the death trap that waited._

_Only two headlights were source of light other than the full moon that loomed above as her eyes watched the paved road. Maybe if she could get one last look of him, her heart would finally die instead of bleed; as it had been for the millions of seconds since part of it had been ripped out._

_The car, which was a slick black to match the shadows, seemed to slow. No, the speed stayed the same; it was time that went at a fraction of what it should have been._

_Not that she cared, noting else mattered._

_He was older, but then again so was she. The driver's beautiful eyes, his dark brown eyes, were focused on the structure, his home. The images of the gas filled home filled her thoughts, what would happen the minute it was set alight._

_NO! The word was screamed in her mind._

_He didn't know what was coming, none of them did. Everything would be gone of the past then, but she didn't want that…did she?_

_Something must have been showing the swirling madness in her mind, as he took one of her shaking hands and whispered "You sure you're okay?"_

_Her head nodded as she tried to rein her emotions in._

_It was time to let him go, but…_

" _Would you like to do the honors Ra-Ra?" Then Yuki handed her the weapon that would end it all, a flare gun to ignite the gasoline, the bodies, and finally the charges._

_Even in the darkness, she knew that he was glaring at their sister with disgust. They both knew and the elder took advantage. He knew how much this was hurting her; even though every trace of the enemy was suppose to be of hate and not the opposite._

" _I'll do it" He went to grab the item from her; to save her the guilt of directly ended his, the driver's, life._

" _No, I will" The word came forcefully, as though it punched itself out, from her mouth as she took aim._

" _Don't under mind her Ru" The eldest wagged her finger at him, who scowled._

_Only a few seconds would be needed before the trigger would be pulled and the fire would reach the sky to announce their victory. It would be a bloody one, but in the end; the Ravens would be the last ones standing._

_But as the twitching that she had banished only moments before returned to where her sharp aim was scattered to everywhere except where it was suppose to be, she watched the car._

_Inside was three._

_One of which she respected for the skills they shared._

_One of which she cared for the innocence, which she had lost long ago._

_One of which she had once loved…_

" _No…"_

_She wouldn't, couldn't, do it._

… _that she still loved._

_The trigger was pulled, just like it had always needed to be, but just a moment too early._

_She smiled as the building burned; the car tires squeal to turn around yards from where it had needed to be. They were safe, he was safe, and that was all…_

" _Fucking bitch!" A snarl resounded in her ear as a punch echoed her face; she was falling to hit the ground a moment later. And as pain spread to every fiber of her body, she didn't care to look up at the face that was obviously glaring death at her._

…  _that had ever mattered._

_And as she lay on her back looking at the road, time slowed again. Just enough for the image of him illuminated face to be preserved in her memory, but it was perfect. Then the car was speeding down the road, a moving spot on the horizon of her clouding vision._

_Two sets of feet landed not far from her, she knew what was coming. A kick to the ribs came a moment later; she recognized the high heel that dug into her body._

" _I see that he still holds a place in that soft heart of yours" Another blow as her elder female stated the obvious._

_She had tried to fight it, but if only she could say that she was sorry; to apologize for everything._

" _But he will die; to bad you won't see him beg for his pitiful life" Her eyes snapped up to the sinister face of her sister and then to the emotionless one of her brother. She tried to sit up, fighting the pain, but a boot pushed her back down "Oh no, you are going to take a little nap; don't worry Ra, we'll take care of it for you"_

_And then something hard, more than likely a butt of a gun, caused an explosion of pain to scramble her mind and cause spots to swarm her vision._

_A set of feet walked away, a hand touched her cheek._

" _I'll make sure it's quick"_

_He would do that, be merciful, but it brought her little peace as darkness consumed. Then the touch was gone, her last sibling gone to end his life._

_A single tear ran in sorrow of the one that was soon to be gone forever; unconsciousness came a moment later._

_But before everything faded into the shadows, one word was said in hopeless hope that somehow the three, he, would live._

" _Kiba…"_

She shoved the memory back, it was just the past. Like the pain that had been delivered that night, the desire had faded only to be replaced with guilt with the news that of his death. She had become a shell, a cold formless shadow of herself; which was exactly what was needed for the mission she was about to carry out.

Emotions were useless, it wouldn't bring him back. Crying wouldn't solve anything, neither would screaming at the top of her lungs until her voice gave out into a scraggy whisper. Not that it hadn't stopped her the morning after, collapsing into her brother's arms as tears soaked them both. And all he had said was…

" _He didn't feel any pain"_

At first she had wondered if that was supposed to make her feel better. Was that suppose to make her FEEL better, to FORGET it EVER happened; that he wasn't DEAD? Why did he tell her that? But then she had found herself saying thank you, over and over. It had been for the best; at least her sister hadn't been able to drag the process of dying out. And for that, she had decided later, she was grateful.

But it didn't change the fact that it hurt, the bleeding hole in her chest.

The Daily Sentinel, the giant sign overshadowing her slender form looked down upon her as she waited. She had been standing across from the looming building for some amount of time. It could have been minutes, hours, or maybe just seconds of her listening to the sounds of the city while her eyes never left the exterior of where enemy was; the structure seeming to gleam in the light, just like where an angel would be.

The others had been called the moment a motorcycle had roared past; it had only taken a fraction of a second to identify him. Even with him aged by a decade and a half, it wasn't hard to recognize those dark eyes that had been focused on the building she had been gazing at.

Then she had known the time had finally come; it would all end.

Emotions were useless, love most of all, it mattered in no way, shape or form and it never would. Killing Kato would finally end it all; her debt to the clan would be done.

Maybe then she could extinguish the flames of guilt and pain that always licked at her mind, reminding her of the horrendous past. Perhaps a walk off a bridge, the water becoming crystal clear before darkness came once more. Or maybe her gun could start the massacre before the others got here…

"Don't even think about it"

A hand wrapped around hers, the one that was firmly grasping the butt of the hidden in her jacket. She had been aware that she had even been holding it or even that her hand had moved, but none of that mattered now.

"It wasn't like I was going to start without you" Speaking lowly, she turned to face a mirror image in her twin brother.

Other than the fact that her hair was longer and he was much taller, having grown so much in those years past, there was nothing that could tell them apart. He was quieter than he had been before, although his kind nature was just hidden instead of destroyed like hers.

He didn't answer; just send her a small smile which caused her mood to reflect it just a bit. If anyone could make her feel better, it was him. He knew after all what do to both bug her and make her laugh and everything in between.

"Didn't think you would dare to; are you correct that he in there?"

She tried to resist the urge to growl at the new voice, someone who she had come to hate in the latest years even though she was bound to follow the appointed leader and elder of their trio.

"It was him, I am not blind!" Her voice snapped in irritation at the doubt placed in her identification of their target.

Yuki turned to glare at her insubordination but said nothing. Instead her elder sister just started across the street, weaving smoothly between the cars while ignoring their honks of anger.

"Xinu" Toru said firmly, while pulling her arm with him to follow their leader. His eyes were focused while darting cautiously in search of anything that could hurt her. [Translation from Mandarin: Calm down]

Even though she was the elder twin (by ten minutes) and the second in command of the team (a rank she had still kept despite her actions that night), he still protected her as though he was in charge of her safety. Not that they didn't watch out for each other, but he always seemed to be taking an elder role. Maybe it was just a guy thing, she mused.

Finally they reached the other edge of the concrete when she decided to reply. "I will when she's not such a bitch"

"Never going to happen" A small chuckle escaped at the muttered statement under his breath

When entering the building, they both found it strange that the guards were still standing and that the ice cold snow queen of the ravens was talking calmly to the receptionist. When the two dark eyes of the bitch turned to focus on them, they quickly regroup with her.

"I'm guessing we are going with force?" She asked dryly, it wasn't like her sister could do anything in the public eye, what the hell was a little sarcasm?

Almost immediately she was met with a glare.

"No, the bastard is being brought to us!" Yuki snarled before reaching to where they knew her guns were stored as she walked towards the uniformed road blocks were.

Reaching for her own, she left out an almost silent growl "Maybe a bullet should be put in her head; maybe it will make her actually fucking smile for once"

Another chuckle as he watched her six "Yi nali hu, save the claws for the angel" [Easy there Tiger]

She rolled her eyes "Whatever wuya…" [Raven]

Then there was the first shot.

The second was not far behind as it harmonized with the screaming that came with the falling bodies.

The guards were done, the people in the lobby huddling into a group as they approached. He locked the glass doors as she looked to the innocents that were now in their way.

"Please don't, I have a wife and three…" One man pleaded

"Oh shut the hell up, you aren't worth the bullet!" His eyes went wide at her outburst before scooting behind a woman that was obviously pregnant. Spineless filth she thought while glaring at the man.

"Toru, guard the door" He nodded before lying comfortably in the chair the receptionist had once been, his feet crossed on desk, but not before shooting her a look.

One that said to deal with the shit that Yuki that dished out and not start any trouble; oh, and to be careful as always.

She gave him a mock salute in return, he smirked.

"You're with me tiger" Taking a deep breath she followed her sister into the glass elevator, leaving her twin behind as it started to climb.

It had already been determined that Kato would be on the top floor, where his 'friend's' (if you call Britt Reid that) office was. So that was where she was going, in a small glass rectangle with the one person on the planet she wanted to kill. The angel bastard could go to hell; she really didn't care for his death.

She just didn't care; her sister on the other hand…

"Don't fuck this up, okay sister dear?"

…she was  **this** close to turning the gun in hand on her.

But before that could happen, the doors slid open to reveal a deserted floor. Should of used the silencers, but no, it didn't matter as Yuki had said. It was obvious that the people that had been working were hidden and Kato knew that they were here.

Well if he already knew, then what the hell?

"Here angel angel angel" She called coldly

"Idiot" The female beside her muttered as they moved through the cubicles

"Kato?" A small voice reached her ears, definitely male

Creeping closer to the sound, she found it to be a cell phone. The piece of technology was lying on some person's desk whose name was Lenore, must have been where it had dropped. What kind of a name was Lenore? She thought; such a boring name. Turning her attention back to the phone, she wondered who it was; to bad for them, whoever it was.

"Pick up you kitty bastard!"

Well that was an interesting nickname, she thought in amusement.

"KATO!"

She'd bet her life that it was Britt, time to deliver the bad news.

"I'm sorry, he's not available at the moment nor will he ever be; bye now" With that she snapped the phone shut and let it fall from her hand to the floor before outstretching her arm to it's full length to scan the room for any sign.

There was none, this was going to be interesting.

Let the games begin, she gripped the gun tighter…

"Get ready to die Kato"

…let the games begin.


	10. Last Words

"Who the hell are you?" As the sentence slipped out, she shifted in her high heeled boots before glaring at the newcomer.

Already, with no words coming from the white boy, she didn't like him. From the way he was cowering from her entrance, it was already evident that he was not an associate of Kiba's. Not that the male's company didn't fear her; only a handful weren't afraid of her, three of which thought she was dead and the other two was family; but the others tried to act tough, while the green wearing idiot was hiding behind her brother.

Speaking of idiots…

"Wèi shén me shi ni zheli?" Never taking her eyes off the target, the words came out lifeless, barren of the emotions that had been tearing her apart since their last meeting. [Translation from Mandarin Chinese: Why are you here?]

It had been fifty three weeks since they had been in the same room, and even after a few moments she felt his presence calming her nerves, the ones that had been shredded a lifetime ago. It was always nice to be near him, to feel whole again.

At the time of their last encounter, her anger had come out to scream at him to never come back. And even then he had come closer, to be the eldest like he always had. A warm hug, wiping away her tears; then he was gone, to give her the space she had wanted. Many times during those three hundred and seventy two days, her thoughts had turned to try to contacting him. Each and every time the phone had been put up; she had to be strong on her own.

But with the feeling of her other half being soothing her soul, she did something she hadn't done in a long time. A faint smile came to her lips…damn; it was good to have him back.

"Ta shi bùzhòngyào" As the man tried to find his voice, while digging in his pockets, the reply came to her in a rougher voice than her own. [It's unimportant]

After all, when you took everything else away just like it had so long ago, he was all she had left. Family, friends, possessions, lovers…and yet she still had one thing to anchor her from throwing it all away.

The answer sparked more curiosity; if it was unimportant, why wouldn't he tell her? About to vocalize the question, she was cut off by the idiot of the hour.

"Dude, could you speak English? I only know a few words" Glaring even more at the man, as her brother back a few feet away to come to her side…taking away the human shield that had been there for the newcomer. A small smirk graced Kiba's face; it was obvious he was enjoying the way the man was squirming without him being a barrier between him and her.

Although there was still the protective nature he was know for in his stance, like the man was a link to something that had been lost…her eyes slightly widened at the thought. The last time he had been this silently defensive, ready to take a bullet to protect one person, it had been Kato.

That's it, she was finding out just what the hell was going on.

"Fine…" Turning to face the man she knew to be her slightly older brother, she glared into the eyes exactly the same as her own "…now tell me, why you are here and who is he?"

Two dark eyebrows rose as he smiled at her before he motioned to the nameless man "That is Britt Reid and…"

Cutting him off, she gave him an irritated look "You brought a paper boy into my garage, do you know what that could do to my business?"

Her customers were the lowest of the low and the highest of the high, with two things in common; they liked their cars to be in pristine condition and they didn't like the attention of anyone, especially the owner of a major newspaper like the Daily Sentinel.

The business ring of the city, even though most of it had been shut down by the Green Hornet, was not something that needed to be covered by the media. Hence the reason why she was going to murder someone if they didn't have a damn good reason for being here.

"Sorry about that I can leave and we can talk somewhere…" The curly haired Britt swallowed hard, she sent him a look that said 'Shut it' before going back to the one who the question was for.

Her brother sent a soothing look towards the man, just like he was trying to do what he did for…then he turned to her.

"I know, but it's unimportant" A brain vessel popped, her eye began twitching as he said the two words with the evilest look grinning at her.

She tried to not let her anger get fired up, but just the thought that the asshole was deliberately trying to kill her business by bringing in a scardy cat reporter was too much.

The tall form of Kiba crouched down just as a heel went to where his chin would have been, rolling to the side to avoid her downward swinging foot. A snarl coming from her throat, she spoke as she threw a wrench at the family member she hadn't seen in a year. It was dodged, but it didn't matter…

"KIBA!"

…that bastard was going to pay.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

Patience is a virtue…

"Wo shi quliu shasi zhi" He quietly growled to himself and an empty room, a chant of what was going to happen in the future, while staring at the wooden door opposite to him. [I am going to kill him]

…one that he was fresh out of.

After getting into a yelling match with Lenore, although he was the one mostly doing the yelling, Mike, the father of the building, had 'sent' him to Britt's office to cool down while she tried to get a hold of the dumbass.

Feeling like a kid sent to his room, an emotion he hadn't felt since…forever ago, he scrunched his face before plopping down in the leather chair and propping his feet up to begin his stare contest with the door.

The moment it opened, this 'kitty' was going to pounce and maim someone. Namely Britt.

Through the glass walls of the office, he saw her juggle multiple phones while trying to call/text/and email the playboy all at the same time. He would have volunteered, but every time he moved, he got a death glare from either the senior editor or Casey.

So he stayed put.

Not that he was still though; he couldn't be still if he wanted to. Fiddling with the different pens on and in the wooden monstrosity known as a desk, he soon found himself doing something that he hadn't done since his childhood.

" _You ready Kato?"_

" _Yes"_

" _On three"_

_Flexing his hand around the wooden item, he waited. He was never very good at waiting, but for this to work he had to be patient and wait for the perfect moment…_

" _One"_

_There was no way that Kiba was going to beat him this time._

" _Two"_

_He had been practicing, he was going to win._

" _Three!"_

_The objects in hand flew; yet his was the only one to come back down…_

" _OW!" He groaned, rubbing where the pencil had hit his forehead._

_His elder just grinned, he glared._

" _You're cheating!" The accusation caused the other to react defensively_

" _I am not!" The dark haired teen replied with a smirk_

" _Then why can't I…" The sentence ran off as his arms crossed and he gloomily looked at the floor._

_It seemed that whatever he did, he was never as good as the two of them. He wasn't as smooth as Kiba and he wasn't as smart as Sumi; him losing was just another reminder._

_He had copied the elder's technique, which stuck the tip of the pencil in the soft ceiling every time, but he still couldn't do it. If he couldn't even get a damn writing utensil in an object, how was he going to be as good as the two of them on day?_

" _Hey angel" He felt himself be poked, but he still didn't look up._

" _Yeah?" The grumbled word, filled with annoyance and frustration, left his lips just before he sighed._

" _Did you know that it took me two years to get the pencil to stick?" His head snapped up to look into the dark eyes of his elder._

" _Really?" There was no way that it had taken the awesome person known as Kiba to accomplish something that seemed so simple._

" _One of the older boys had taught me, but I never exactly got it in, until this one day when I…" As he ran off, the older boy twirled the possible projectile in his fingers._

" _What, what did you do!" He poked the bigger arm beside him, desperately wanting the answer._

" _I changed the angle just enough to work for me" With those words another one flew to hit the giant white target known as the ceiling. "Now you try"_

_Picking up a small missile, which they had sharpened before hand, he resisted going through the motions he had tried to copy. Tilting his hand just enough, he smoothly released the object and watched it sail…_

" _YES!"_

… _and stick._

" _Nice job Kato" He smiled widely as he high fived the older male_

_Going to try and repeat the results, he remembered one thing he had to do._

" _Thank you" It was always god to give credit when credit was due, and the elder definitely was deserving of some._

" _Hey now, what are big…" Looking at the bigger man, he followed his line of sight to the doorway that was now filled with a certain female figure._

" _What the hell are you two doing?" Walking deeper into the room, she looked at them expectantly for an answer._

" _Uh…well Sumi, we were…" The older man's sentence was never finished as a pencil fell…_

" _The hell?" Sumi rubbed her head, glaring angrily at the broken tipped pencil._

_He giggled before going into full on hysterical laughter._

_Kiba wasn't far behind…_

" _What is so damn funny?"_

… _just like the two of them always were._

"KATO!"

Slightly jumping at the voice, he looked at the slightly frustrated figure in the newly opened door. It wasn't Britt, so he didn't move more than taking his feet off the desk before sending one last pen into the ceiling.

Casey's eyes followed the object, before sighing. "Don't teach Britt that"

A smirk came to his face as he thought about the idea of the two of them tearing up the floor above them tiny hole by tiny hole. It'd be just like old times, just with a different person.

But first they had to find Britt, so he could kill him…

"Any luck?"

… then they could talk about target practice.

"No, his phone is either off or he's ignoring us" The second part was spat out, anger obviously behind it as she wearily sipped another cup of coffee that Mike handed her.

"Do you have any idea…" He cut off the older man, not in the mood to be interrogated

"No, he left on his own accord this morning" Besides, just because they were Xiong di didn't mean that he knew where the idiotic hornet was. It was like they were expecting him to know because he was Britt's partner, in more than crime…but that was crazy.

True, Britt was attractive; the training that he had implemented had turned the slightly flabby playboy into a 'sexy man beast' as the green man had referred to himself as. He had just laughed at the comment, although he necessary didn't disagree with the label. I mean, how was he not supposed to look when the man randomly ripped off his shirt to expose the newly built six pack before jumping into the pool?

True, Britt was smart (ish); in his own special way. While he was more technical and precise, which came in handy for building cars and inventing new poisons, the Green Hornet had random facts tucked in his brain (which Kato had thought was somewhat damaged from hangovers) that came in handy at the weirdest times. For example, he had no idea what they would have done on one Hornet job if Britt hadn't know the name of one particular brand of expensive vodka that just  _happened_  to be the password to get into the heart of a Russian Mobsters hideout they were about to raid.

And it was true, no matter how cheesy it sounded, that Britt completed him. He himself was silent, conservative, and calm; while the playboy on the other hand was the complete and utter opposite. Loud, obnoxious, inappropriate…although Casey had kicked his ass hard enough to stop the sexual shit around her, not that it stopped it all the time. They were like ying and yang to the point where when they were not around each other, like now where he was freaking out, they caused chaos around them. Not that Britt was mellow when he was around, but it was definitely toned down. He kept the playboy on a leash, to make sure that nothing life threatening happened, and Britt pulled on that leash to get him to do crazier things that he usually wouldn't do.

Through all the crap they gave each other, their partnership worked.

Sarcasm, potty mouth comments, and everything in between; but it was clear that they would never leave the other. Yes, there had been that one time, and it had almost ended in him assassinating the idiot…a shiver went down his spin at the thought of the green man dying, especially by his hand.

True, he would pull the trigger; he would make himself do it, if there was no other choice. But he couldn't imagine Britt not being with him, he had already lost a family, he wasn't going to lose the closest thing he had to a brother…

Everything seemed to flow better when Britt was around, even though it was usually more chaotic that a 'normal' person's life. God knew he made Britt's life easier…he hoped that he made it better.

Sure there were rough spots, but he wouldn't trade it for the world. Hell, he might not even trade it for…

"Did you call him?" Swallowing hard, he gazed at Casey with a 'are you stupid?' look.

There didn't need to be a response to that, it was the stupidest thing he had heard all day.

It was even stupider than nickname that Britt had assigned him after a lapse in emotional control. Kitty, it sounded like the Britt version of Honey Bun or Cutie Pie…which did not help the case that he was trying to resist in his mind that he was more than Britt's crime fighting partner.

The playboy called his accented self 'his man' all the time and maybe it was just because he was going crazy from not enough sleep (or maybe it was the snuggle session this morning) but he wasn't really sure the word was used in a completely platonic way anymore…But Britt didn't swing that way, well other than a few stupid drunk moments where he would steal a smooch from another drunk man for laughs, besides did he even want the white boy to do that to him one night…whisper in his ear, everything else fading but that deep voice, while leaning pulling him closer just before their lips touched…

"I meant have you in the last few minutes?" Damn her, interrupting whatever the hell that had been…

But he shouldn't be thinking like that, it wasn't going to happen. He would just have to watch as a new girl came in, try to block out the giggles…try not to rip her damn head off or growl that Britt was his.

His, no one else's

"Well, have you?"

Yet doing that would ruin the 'bromance' as Lenore had referred to it a few times, that he had with Britt. Losing another Xiong-Di was not something he wanted to experience again, especially if it was his actions that ran the man away. The scenario that was his reality at the moment was fine; he would just have to deal with it.

"Kato, answer me"

Would it be that way for the rest of his life, granted he wasn't killed by the possible threat of a raven trio? Not that he minded what he was getting now, but it would be nice to get more.

"Kato"

More.

A single word made up of four letters, two consonants and two vowels; somehow it was the only thing he could think of that actually described his feelings at the moment.

Actually, that wasn't the only word; too many to count swarmed his mind.

Want.

Need.

Lust.

Love.

 _Love_.

The sound of it echoed his mind, the last time…

" _We need to go" From the shadow of the building, the panted words reached his ears as the one who said them scanned the darkness._

_She suddenly put him down from where he had been held, the warmth of her embrace soon evaporating into the cool night. "Kato, you need to stay here"_

" _No!" He didn't want to be away from the, not after what happened earlier the crazy night. The thought of being alone chilled him more than the wind…"Please don't leave me" Tears were already leaking down his face, he clutched the lower half of one and the hand of the other._

" _We don't want you to get hurt" Whispered while two dark eyes looked at him, he tried not to cry._

" _No, you can't…please don't…please…" From his look out spot, the tallest of them circled to surround his other side. At the same time, his two guardians gently held him close…_

" _We'll come back when it's safe" Kiba wiped away a tear_

" _Promise?" A sniffle, he tried to see the positive. They would be back, hopefully soon and then everything would be okay._

" _Cross my heart and hope to die" He smirked, although the sadness was still seen in his eyes._

" _Die?" He squeaked in fear_

" _Way to go dumbass" The female grumbled, smacking the older male on the shoulder._

" _I was kidding; you know it'll take a lot to bring me down" The sentence made him feel a bit better, although he still was worried._

" _Sumi?" She had never given her half of the vow_

_Taking his pinkie, she intertwined it with her longer, more slender one. "Promise" She smiled, her eyes looking a bit watery._

_A moment later, there was the sounds of very faint footsteps were heard. Giving one last squeeze, Kiba stood to place himself between them and the open entrance. Reaching under his jacket, the hand bigger than his own pulled out a gun. Taking a stance, ready to use his very good aim, he shot one look to Sumi._

_Nodding slowly, she turned back to him._

" _Just know that whatever happens, we love you…"_

_Pulling him into one last hug, he felt one of her tears hit his skin._

"… _we love you so much"_

"KATO!"

Jerking up from where he had slumped in the chair, his feet went to the floor. Looking up to meet the eyes that had yelled his name, he saw them soften in shock. Then he felt it, a tear slowly moving down his tanned skin.

Swallowing the memories, he whipped the betraying tear away before pulling his phone out.

"No, but I will"

And as the ringing in his ear began, he thought about the word.

Love.

Only a few names could be associate with that…

Jiejie, sister.

Sumi.

Gege, brother.

Kiba.

Other than that, there was only one more four letter word….

"Kato, my man, what's up?"

…Britt.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

What. The. Hell.

God, he was so confused.

He'd of thought that the situation would have been serious, which it was…

Truthfully, he had been scared shitless when she had been told he was who he was. The other person had been cool, calm, and supportive to him. It had made him feel better, having an older Kato like figure there to protect him if things got back.

But now, as he watched the two play a screwed up version of cops and robbers, he seriously reconsidered if he had the right people.

"NI WANGBADAN!" [You bastard!]

At the moment, 'Sumi' was chasing the taller male around the garage, only a step behind as Kiba dodged the machines, tools, and people that littered the garage. It was like the badass people he had been with had descended into an immature state worst that his usual self.

It was ridicules.

It was strange feeling like he was the adult of the situation, especially since both of them were more than likely older than him and he thought that he was the most childish person in Los Angeles (or at least in the top 5).

Strangest thing was that, while he would have been screaming for Kato to save him, Kiba was actually grinning while being chased. It was like he was enjoying it, being chased by a slightly psychotic female who was carrying a gun. Maybe the dude was just going crazy, one too many blows to the brain…

He sighed, what the hell was he going to do?

Okay so he had found, supposedly, the guards that had protected Kato, also known as his family, the only members of his clan. That was step one off the list…

As a tool box was pushed into her way, he watched the female of the pair clear it without missing a step before thinking of step two.

Well frankly, he didn't have a step two; he didn't think he would have gotten this far. The chances of him getting this far were slim compared to the chances of getting killed, kidnapped, or something else by the two 'mysterious' people.

The two mysterious people playing 'tag' right now…

"Hey!" He tried to get their attention, probably not the best idea for two people that protected and more than likely trained the kickass Kato.

Neither heard him of their muttering, cursing, and breathing as they had turned to hand to hand combat after the slightly taller man had been cornered. Watching the punches and kicks, he knew that he had the right people, no matter how immature they were being.

But it was time to give them the goods, telling them that Kato existed and was only a few miles away…

"HEY!"

…if only he could get their attention.

"Ge dou ni…." The sentence was cut off by a near close punch to the mouth, Kiba dodging just in time. [That all you…]

A growl sounded as their battle continued.

What the hell did he have to do to get their attention?

A light bulb, if you will appeared over the idiots head.

"AZRA IDIOTS, LOOK OVER HERE!" Both froze to whip around and look at the thing he was waving in the air, which just happened to be the picture.

"What did you say?" She spat venomously, coming forward in large steps to be  **this**  close to being able to punch him.

Well that was before someone grabbed her fist; he sighed in relief.

"Yi" The bigger male said firmly [Easy]

"What did you tell him?" She hissed; he involuntarily slunk behind Kiba.

"Nothing" He felt two set of dark eyes on him, he held the worn picture out.

She snapped it out of his hand before studying the image; it only took a moment before the anger melted out of her expression to be replaced by sadness.

"Where did you get this?" He hesitated, although he knew it was time to come clean, but the scariness of her tone was not helping loosen his tongue.

"We are both here, now tell us" Kiba said in a 'don't you dare back out' tone, which a look to match.

"First, you are Sumi right?" The shorter tensed, before narrowing her eyes at him.

"My name is Kasumi, but if you call me that I will kill you" By her clenched fist, he knew that it was not a playful threat.

"And to think that is means mist, I think that 'bitch' would have been more appropriate" The darker colored male muttered with a smirk before wincing where a punch was delivered to his shoulder.

"Dude, what are you two?" They acted like more than friends, even brother and sisters, and during the fight they had literally blocked attacks they knew had been coming, either they were lovers or…

"Unfortunately, he's my twin" She slightly groaned, giving him an annoyed look

"You know you love me" He smirked, poking his other half in the shoulder before his hand was slapped away.

Well that was interesting…he thought; the single fact somewhat explaining their behavior. Perhaps they had been apart for a while and being together brought back their inner childishness? That could be an answer, but frankly he didn't care.

"Now that we have answered your questions…" One started

"…tell us where you got this photo" The other finished without missing a beat from where the other ended.

"One more question" The two gave each other a look before the taller of the two forcefully pressing him into the wall behind him, the one he had huddle near while they were fighting. His feet were barely on the ground from his strength, he gulped as the pair went into serious mode.

"Tell us now" He locked eyes with the more familiar with the two, the male saying the words with the force of a freight train. She had tucked the gun back into her waistband, but he knew that it could be back out any moment; and he knew that the knife the male carried was nearby due to the silver sliver of color he saw out of the corner of his eye.

This is what he had expected, serious aggressive ninjas. Guess he got what he wanted, he grumbled at his stupidity. He wished Kato was here.

The grips on his shirt tightened in irritation, he took a breath to start talking…

_MEOW~!_

Then a familiar jingle sang from his pocket, only one person it could be. [AN: You all know the jingle for Meow Mix cat food right? If not youtube it, you will laugh your ass off! XD]

As it kept going off, he found his voice "Dude, can I…?"

After a moment, a hand reached into his pocket gently before giving him the phone. While the grip on his loosened, a hand still remained, ready to put him back at any sign that he was trying to run.

Opening it, he rid his voice of any panic before thinking of the man on the other end. That gave his voice a little pep as he said "Hey Kato…"

The moment the name exited his mouth, the hand fell away.

Everything went deathly silent, the two staring wide eyed at him…

The two stared at him, looking desperately at him with slightly watery eyes.

He nodded, knowing the unspoken question.

_Yes…_

"…my man, what's up?"

… _it's him._

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

Just with those six simple words, a normal question, he felt the frazzled stress melt away. He stopped pacing in front of Lenore's desk, where he had walked to when listening to the rings.

Was he still worried? Yes, but hearing the deep voice of his man made the situation that much better. Britt wasn't dead nor was he being tortured, the playboy was never good at hiding pain, so the fact that his voice was relaxed and a both silly as usual meant that nothing was wrong.

Britt was safe.

The sentence made him smile; something that Lenore and Mike did not miss.

"Well, where the hell is he?" Casey asked anxiously

Holding up one figure to signify for her to wait one moment, he turned back to the phone "Where are you?"

There was a little moment of silence, like Britt was trying to think of something, which was unusual. The man didn't usually think; which was why one of his unspoken nicknames was the 8th wonder of world because he didn't have a filter. But right now, Britt was filtering himself, his only question was why? The playboy had never filtered himself before, especially not to him…

Then the reply came "I'm just visiting someone"

"Who?" Was his automatic sentence, the one that next came out of his mouth. And why would Britt be all secretive about visiting someone, and why the hell wouldn't he take his accented self along?

"Just a friend" Well that was bullshit, Britt's 'friends' were mostly assholes like him or…

"You're with a hooker aren't you?" Both Mike and Casey face palmed at the sentence, he on the other hand died a little on the inside. Why was he jealous of a hooker? Because she was where he wanted to be, getting love from Britt.

"Jealous?" Yes, yes he was. That was the answer he was tempted to give, scream it into the phone, YES! But that would ruin his relationship with the man, so he'd just have to give a Kato standard answer. It was obvious that Britt wasn't with someone or he wouldn't have answered the phone to begin with.

"You wish su tong" While Britt was mostly lingual in one language, he was learning Mandarin. Slowly but surely, although it was mostly curse words that he muttered under his breath when Britt did something stupid…which was why Britt would know exactly what he meant when he said that. [White boy]

"Why does everyone keep calling me that, I'm not THAT white!" He heard Britt grumble lowly, with a smothered laugh heard faintly in the background.

Wait, someone else was calling him that? He was the only one that called Britt that, because HE was normally the one that knew Mandarin that was near the playboy.

"What?" The background noise fell away, and Britt seemed to come back to the conversation.

"Nothing man, so are you at the office?" Way to change the subject, although he was going to get answers later.

"Yep, Casey is about to kill me" And that was the truth, since the woman was stressed out, exhausted, and not amused that he hadn't given them an definitive answer of where Britt was at the moment.

"Well tell her to calm down, I'll be there soon" Britt would be here soon, he felt the knots in his muscles melt a bit more away.

"I'll make sure to…" He ran off, as the phone fell out of his hand to drop somewhere.

How were they here, how did they find him? He didn't care what happened to the phone; he had to get everyone away.

Another gunshot came a moment later, shocking the whole floor into panic.

"STOP!" Roaring the word, everyone froze to look at him.

"Kato?" Casey said, but he ignored her.

He only had a few moments before  _they_  were up here and if anyone stood in their way, they would kill them to get to him.

"Here is what you are going to do, go as quickly and quietly as you can to the fire escape on the other side of the floor." He watched, almost all the heads nodded in understanding "Get to the ground, but do NOT go through the main lobby. STAY OUTSIDE THE BUILDING!" The last part was barked because it was the most important part, they would have the lobby locked down and anyone that came from the outside in would be shot or worse…

Everyone understood and almost all were gone, he heard the elevator begin to rise.

"What about you?" Lenore whispered

"I have to hold them off, just go" He gave a light push towards the right way

"But…"

"NOW!" He mouthed silently as his enemies came closer and closer

She hesitated before nodding, disappearing around a corner before he ran into Britt's office. Reaching underneath the desk, he did two things: First. trigger the silent alarm that James Reid had had put in years before grabbing the gun that was stored in a secret compartment.

Checking to see that it had a full round of six bullets, he turned the office chair to look like he could be in it before exiting the room and closing the door.

Running into the maze of cubicles, he heard Britt faintly trying to reach him.

"Dude?"

But he ignored it, taking cover just as the elevator dinged open. He heard the small taps of heels, telling him it was the coldest of the trio.

"Here angel angel angel" An icy cold voice echoed, so she was here too? Well that's interesting; to think he once liked the bitch…

"Idiot" Wonderful, both ice cold women were here, not that he expected any less.

"Kato?" Almost unbearable, he heard the confusion, but there was nothing he could do.

He could almost see the grins on their faces at Britt's concern, after all, they didn't care about feelings, they thought it was amusing.

"Pick up you kitty bastard!" It was a bit louder, but he still remained still, although he desperately wanted to hang up the phone, so Britt wouldn't have to hear the shots about to be fired.

"KATO!" His heart broke just a little, but he had to focus.

Moving the opposite way of the corner of the floor that he was most familiar with, his mind raced to come up with a plan. He had to stall the bitches long enough to let the others get out of the building, and then he had to get out without killing himself. Then he would kill Britt for worrying him.

Stall.

Escape.

Kill.

Pretty simple, now if only he could get through step one…

In his thinking, he only heard part of a spoken sentence "…nor will he ever be, bye now"

Well that sounded good, he muttered in his mind.

"Get ready to die Kato"

A death sentence, he gripped his only weapon tighter…

"You're going to have to catch me first" He said so quietly that he barely heard it.

…let Round Two begin.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

_Creeping through the shadows, he knew that the slightly missteps of the heeled feet following him weren't from the slightly wet ground from rain earlier. The faint sound of tears ripped through his heart, but they had to keep moving. The farther they were from Kato, the better things would be…as good as leaving a ten year old as dear to them as the boy was alone when killer ravens were on the streets could be._

"…"  _Wordless, almost silent sobs sounded._

_The reaction was normal, if leaving your Didi behind was normal, he just had to keep it together for the two of them or he would be crying too. But not was not the time, someone had to be strong…_

" _We'll be back soon enough" He said gruffly, all his emotions on lock down to avoid the distraction of them._

_Every shadow was gazed at before moving on, they couldn't take any chances. But the best scenario would be finding the three, so that they could lead their rivals away from where Kato was. Then every single one would get a bullet to the head, extinguish any chance that the Ravens could come back…they would all have to die, even the one that secretly held a place in his heart._

_But that didn't matter, it had to end. No matter what happened in the past, or how he felt, family came first…he would protect his own._

" _But what if…"_

" _That won't happen"_

_What she was suggesting was 'what if they both died?' It would leave Kato all alone, something that might just be worst than him being killed. He wouldn't, no couldn't, let that happen._

" _You can't be sure"_

" _At least one of us will make it back"_

_She grabbed his arm and almost violently turned him around "I am not leaving you behind, if that's what you are suggesting"_

" _At least one of us needs to get back to Kato, so if that means you run while I shoot…" He was cut off by a slap, which didn't feel good any day, but it stung with the emotion she was feeling._

" _No, one mourning caretaker is worse than none at all and you KNOW it…" She had a point; it would need to be both of them. If only doing it was as easy as talking about it. "…besides, you can't get rid of me that easy"_

_With a smirk, she promptly took lead and left him behind. Rolling his eyes, he caught up but let her remain the leader._

_If tonight didn't kill them, everything should go back to normal…_

_A bullet hit the brick next to them, the sound of footsteps mixing in with the sound. He took off; with Sumi keep a perfect pace with him as they raced to find some cover. Looking over his shoulder, he saw only two chasing them, but the third could still be somewhere hidden. Either way, keeping that promise wouldn't be easy._

… _if they didn't get shot first._

"Hey Kato…"

Everything else fell deaf on his ears, his surroundings freezing in everyway. Was that why Britt had come to find them, is that why he had the picture? He felt stupid for causing that shit will Sumi, delaying the impossible news that he was now hearing.

A hand locked with his own, she gave a small squeeze, although neither of them was in a great state to be comforting another.

It didn't matter what happened after this, the stress, the pain could be lifted.

He looked at the man that had brought the miracle to them… "Is it…?" He spoke without moving his lips, and received a nod in return.

"…my man, what's up?"

He gripped a bit more, out of the corner of his eye he saw a tear drip down.

It was going to be okay…

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

"Where are you?" He paused of a moment, distracted by joy radiating out of the two that had been threatening him a moment before.

Another idea hit him; he hit the speaker phone button.

Putting a finger to his lips, he wasn't sure it would be best to tell Kato the news over the phone, they both nodded in understanding.

"I'm just visiting someone" He replied, although he knew it was suspicious that he had taken so long to answer.

"Who?"

The one word made another tear come down her face, a faint happy smirk on his face. It must be nice, he thought, to know that he's alive and well. He smiled at them, they smiled back; had it not made so much noise, they probably would of hug the hell out of him.

"Just a friend" Smooth Britt, he groaned to himself, that was SO believable. He didn't really have 'friends' he had business partners, drinking buddies, but his only friends were really Kato and Casey.

"You're with a hooker aren't you?" The twins almost doubled over simultaneously in silent laugher, he fake kicked at them. Kiba pointed at his sister before striking a pose that would have been sexy had he had the curves, just like she did. She smiled widely before hitting him in the shoulder gently.

"Jealous?" He replied, which they all knew he would have been had he knew that it was them instead of a hooker.

"You wish su tong" The two were  _still_  laughing, he rolled his eyes.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that, I'm not THAT white!" A giggle escaped her mouth at the comment; at least he had been able to make someone laugh.

He made motions for them to be quiet, it went back to silence as they wiped away their tears of laughter…"What?"

"Nothing man, so are you at the office?" Kato would want to know why he was changing subjects, but the casual sentence would tell him where to bring the special presents he had just found for the man.

"Yep, Casey is about to kill me" Their eyebrows rose in question at the name.

"GF?" Sumi mouthed at him, he shook his head before almost chuckling at the thought.

Sure it had been a possibility when Lenore first came to work for the paper, but one thing led to another and they were just good friends now. Hell it was more possible for him and Kato to be a couple than Casey being with the man.

"Well tell her to calm down, I'll be there soon" He heard a small sigh of relief.

Note to self, do not worry Kato again unless necessary.

Stress would probably kill the man, not a bullet.

"I'll make sure to…" Kato ran off, before he heard the impact of the phone hitting something.

That was strange…he checked the connection, the call hadn't been dropped nor had the man hung up. What was going on?

A gunshot rang through the speaker system; they all tensed before staring at the cellular device. Chaos seemed to be unleashed on the other side, although a gunshot can do that to a crowd of people.

"STOP!" Faintly crackled through, as well as bits and pieces of instructions by Kato. "Here is what….go as quickly… fire escape…other side..."

Frankly, he stopped listening then. Turns out, so did they.

"BOYS, BE IN THE CARS IN A MINUTE GUNS AND ALL!" Sumi roared, the mechanics jumped to follow the order, grabbing the necessary equipment before scurrying to the back to where he assumed the 'cars' were stored.

"You got another? I'm only single strapped" Kiba called to her as she reached into a drawer.

With a nod, she threw a gun and two ammo clips at him, which he caught flawlessly. A moment later, a dark package was thrown.

He eyed it, which the older man noticed "Throwing knives, let's just say I'm a damn good shot with more than a gun" saying so as he tucked the silver slips into his back pocket.

And she's a sword person, he thought…seeing her strap a long version of his knife to her back before tucking two guns into her waist with ammo.

Feeling useless, he tried to reach Kato.

"Dude?"

But then "Here, angel, angel, angel" came through, all movement stopping. Did they know the voice? Obviously they did by the reaction that came with the next voice.

"Idiot" Time sped up as they hurried even more, what was so bad about these two? More questions to be answered he guessed.

But the fact that there were two, very mean sounding voices in the vicinity where his man was was making him very worried.

"Kato?" Still no answer…faint footsteps approached the phone, but still no one answered.

Was Kato ignoring him or something? That did not settle well with him, patience with people that ignored him was not his strong suit.

The two around him furiously hustling around, he tried a less soft technique "Pick up you kitty bastard!"

The people around him didn't even bat an eye at the name, being too focused on getting ready to go than a trivial thing as someone being called a kitty.

"KATO!" By this time, he was a full blown wreck, somehow being transformed into that in seconds. His best friend, his Xiong-Di,  _his man_ , wasn't answering and it was driving him to insanity.

Had something happened to him, did the gunshot find a mark in the man's chest?

No.

No, that hadn't happened, it COULDN'T have.

A hand grabbed him, he met eyes with Sumi.

"We need to go" Allowing himself to be pulled, he mindlessly pointed to the Black Beauty before giving her the keys.

The phone was by his ears, so he only heard it as he was pushed into the backseat as the engine turned over.

"I'm sorry, he's not available at the moment nor will he ever be; bye now"

Wha? What did that mean?

There was no way that they were going to kill Kato, right? They couldn't, they couldn't do that.

Not to him.

"Where?" Two sets of eyes looked at him from the front seats.

"Daily Sentinel" The car roared off with speed he had only seen Kato drive with, perhaps even faster.

He clutched the phone, knowing that he might of…

Truth was…

No matter how he tried to deny it or wished to heaven and hell that it was all just some big joke, that it wasn't happening.

No matter how he tried to remember all the good times and how badass Kato was.

No matter how he tried to forgive himself for not telling Kato that…

…he might have just spoken to his man for the last time.


	11. Trust

_"I'll make sure to…"_

Then silence.

It was the last thing he had heard in the accented voice.

What if?

No don't go there.

But, there had been gunshots and screaming and evil sound people…

DO. NOT. GO. THERE.

His mind roared the words.

He tried to not think about, he couldn't think about that right now…

He knew that thinking about Kato would bring nothing good, not now, when everything seemed to be going to hell.

But what if that was the last thing he ever heard from the man who had somehow (despite the fact that it had been open for years) filled the position of be his best friend and possibly love of his life.

The last part, had you asked a few months ago, would have been ridiculed by him, but it seemed that his heart had had enough of his mind and was beating the crap out of it so that it would accept the truth. While his father might have had a heart attack to the fact that his son was gay, he really didn't care about sexual orientation.

He had given up on finding love really; there was no reason since he could have the physical aspect without the drama. But somehow he had known that if he was to find love that the person had to have his interests, to be ready to the crazy things he did, but as well had to be able to shut him up, to remind him that jumping off a bridge with no training and a parachute was not a good idea. It seemed that Kato fit all of that, so by logic, you would think that Kato was for him…

His brain had disagreed, ignoring his heart (who let's just agree had recognized the love MONTHS ago when they'd first met and gotten drunk together) and going with the 'best bud' thinking. Kato had seemed to go along with that, which brought up the question:

Would Kato reject him?

He was much more free thinking that his man, Kato would probably think he was joking. Would the man leave him, would it be an awkward silence once he did find out the truth? That was more than one question, all of which annoyed him because he couldn't think of a definitive answer to ANY of them.

It really didn't matter though, all that mattered was Kato. The crazy Chinese man that he was a brother to was in danger from something…that was ALL he needed to focus on. Everything else could wait until he had the man in his arms, safe and sound. Those beautiful brown eyes looking into his before Kato told him that he was fine and to let him get the fuck up…

Somehow, he felt his mind race as fast as the Black Beauty was (even though logically it didn't seem possible with the car flying way over the limit) at the thought of Kato.

He was hot, the warmth of the car seeming to swallow him whole. The dark leather seemed to loom around him, despite the sun streaming through the windows. Or maybe it was just the fact that his heart was beating so fast right now that it beat any fast it would explode.

He had to calm down; the blood racing through his veins might just puncture through skin to relive the pressure if he didn't…

And Kato hated for blood to be on the upholstery.

The last time they had gone on a raid, he, being a dumbass, has managed to get slightly sliced in the thigh. After Kato had become a crazy Chinese version of the classic 'mother hen' figure (which in no way, shape, or form was pretty. It was more like yelling and curses instead of chicken soup and Band-Aids) they had ended up back in the Black Beauty after Kato had determined that it was just a scratch, that he wasn't going to die, and he should just suck it up. Despite the fact that he had had his coat wrapped around the wound until they got home, where Kato would stich it up and he would make cracks about him not wearing a sexy nurse's uniform (in which Kato would smack him), he ended up getting some blood on the seat. This had ended up pissing off the ninja badass (a title which he was still pressuring Kato into putting on his solemnly used business card) off, which was bad since the man had ended up smacking him in the shoulder. He had winced, the hit having caused him to move his thigh; Kato hadn't been so mean after that. He had actually become the nice side of mother hen Kato, carefully dragging him into the house when they had arrived at his mansion.

He took a handful of somewhat frantic breaths, trying to slow everything down. From the corner of his eye he could see his hands shaking, as his entire body was. But the phone was still clutched firmly in his right hand, knew that he would take that phone to his grave before he let go.

It was how he had last heard of Kato, his man, before everything seemed to go to hell.

He thought the day would never come where the badass kitten he knew would be in trouble, usually it was the other way around, but there was always a time for everything…

That fact boggled him, that Kato was in trouble instead of his playboy self.

It was always that he was the bumbling idjit (as Kato had once called him, note to self: do not let the man watch any more Supernatural) that got in trouble and was the dumbass in distress. That was how it ALWAYS was; that was just how it fit.

The day was just getting weird, he decided.

Kato was in trouble. That fact alone was sending alarm bells off in his head, the sentence sounding so ridicules that it had to be fiction. It just had to be…

But then add in the fact that the "bad guy" (or guys, he really didn't know) that was causing the trouble was not only known to the wonder twins, but frankly seemed to scare the hell out of them as well.

His mind and the day kinda went to hell after that, more than usual anyway.

His new found "friends" (he used the term loosely since they had threatened him with information concerning Kato earlier. But he had written that off as worry, so maybe they were friends) were tensed as one could be. From his place sprawled in the backseat, he could see it all.

The way her knuckles were white from her tight grip on the wheel as she took each turn fast but precisely to avoid flipping or losing speed.

He was clutching his knife, as if he was trying to reassure himself with the blade steadily gripped so that it couldn't cause any damage as the car roared on.

Mostly he saw the murderous intent in their alike eyes. The look seemed to be one that would not only send someone six feet under but one that would disembowel, gouge, salt and finally burn one alive as well.

Note to self, he mentally said, do not ever be the victim of that glare.

On some level though, he knew he never would. Whoever this bitch/bastard/ "villain" was that was hurting Kato, he knew that Kato and his family had history with the person. The look that the twins had was one that did not develop in a moment; it was from a lifetime of hate. He knew that the concern for Kato and the hate was the fuel for the fire in their eyes.

At least he hoped so, he had been wrong before.

His heart rate had died a bit, which he was grateful for, so he had up to sit in middle of the slick backseat. Looking into the long mirror, he found himself connecting eyes with the female driving for a moment.

Despite his best judgment, he decided to ask the question that had been on his mind since this whole craziness had begun.

Although, thank god he had time to phrase it a little more elegantly than 'What the fuck is going on?' The phrasing was a bit better, yes, yes it was.

"Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?" Normally people wouldn't break the silence that was imposed on the car, but then again, he wasn't normal.

"You don't want to know" Sumi said quickly, while taking a sharp turn, in a somewhat pleasant voice…which was surprising since he expected her to snap at him and tell him to shut the fuck up. He had been hanging around Casey too much…

Kiba rolled his eyes, knowing that his sister had just pulled a classic cop out.

More like you don't want to tell me, his bullshit detector grumbled. But he ignored it, knowing that now probably wasn't the time for a history lesson anyway; but he really wanted to know.

Maybe they could just condense it into a sentence? Like, 'They stole something from us and we retaliated by killing someone and they are just trying to make things even?' It would be like spark notes, where he didn't have to read the whole book but he got the basic jest of it. He wished life was like that sometimes, where he could skip the boring staff meetings and go out crime fighting instead. Life notes, that's what they could be called. If they existed, then he could know WHO the hell was hurting his Kato, WHY the hell the twins were in their version of panic mode, WHERE this person was from, HOW Kato had gotten into this situation anyway, and WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON!

The sight of familiar buildings came into his gaze, tearing him from his small hissy fit over not knowing the truth, they must be getting close. He could see the edges of the Daily Sentinel coming into view, which filled him with relief and fear. He was going to find Kato, but in what condition?

"Woren jiang gaosu yi" The older clone of Kato said, [Translated from Mandarin Chinese: We will have to tell him] the sentence obviously directed at his sister. Once again, he couldn't understand. He wished that they would speak English; it annoyed him that they were  **obviously** hiding something from him while he was RIGHT there.

"Bushi xianzai" [Not now] She replied, after sighing at whatever he had said; like she didn't want to accept it.

Before he could question what was going on, the entrance of the newspaper building came into view. Even before the car was stopped, his hands and feet moved on their own accord to open the door and run towards the entrance. The phone clutched in his hand was dropped, forgotten for the more important goal. He ignored everything in his surroundings; Kato was in that building, that's where he was going.

Reporters, police, people in general could kiss his ass.

Someone blocked his path, Casey.

"Kato said not to go in, BRITT!"

He didn't care, he pushed past her harder than he usually would, going for the glass doors he had seen all his life. He heard her frantically talking to someone, telling the story of what was going on. If he were smart he would have listened, but he had been called brainless before. He was going to help Kato, he had to help…

Kato needed him, he had to be there.

With this statement seared into his brain, it was to be expected that those who tried to stop him would be met with fury. Lenore had not been subjected to that; she hadn't put up a fight…

The person who stepped into his path next, on the other hand, latched onto him with the intent of stopping him and did not let go. And that's exactly what the person did, becoming an unmoving bolder in his path.

Arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders, holding him back. He responded like a feral cat, clawing and cursing not words, but sounds of anger and fear. In his mind, everything had vanished but the few words that were necessary.

_Have to Move. Kato. Have to get to him. GET OUT OF MY WAY!_

The surrounding world faded even more than it had before, his only focus being getting past the person currently blocking him. Casey screaming at him, Sumi speaking to someone, Mike trying to not let the group panic; it all fell silent to his deaf ears. Somehow he felt his opponent move to grip his shoulders while facing him.

_Have to move._

"Britt" A calm but strong voice spoke.

_Gunshot, could be him._

He was about to ignore it when his shoulders were shaken with just enough force to rattle him. "Britt, look at me"

But he couldn't…

_Kato._

"Look at me" The voice was harsher now, rougher, but still familiar.

His blurred vision focused to lock onto the pair of brown eyes staring at him. They were just like Kato's…He stopped fighting, just for a moment, to look into them. The person shook him by the shoulders, some of the rage vanishing. He found he recognized the person.

"Nothing is going to happen to him…" The person spoke

The words ingrained themselves into his mind, calming him. Everything was going to be okay…

"…I promise"

…it just had to be.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

The pools of red forming by the newly killed officers, two more to add to the body count of their lives, which made him grimace. One was wearing a wedding ring; he wished it hadn't had to be this way.

Wrong place at the wrong time, was the only thing he could say in regard to the bodies of the fallen men. He didn't like killing, unless necessary, but to protect his twin he had to stay with Yuki and do whatever the hell she wanted.

If he were alone, he would of left years ago. Forgotten about the other clan; it was all water under the bridge, nothing good came from revenge. He had nothing against Kato, other the others, let them rest in peace; but his sisters did.

Yuki was filled with darkness; she always had been and would be until the moment she died.

Tara had become their elder sister over time, darkness becoming her. There was nothing that could save her. Her happiness had died years ago, his twin was gone.

But he was ignorant to the fact, staying with the murderous psycho of an older sister because he knew that if he left it would get worse. The only reason Tara hadn't given completely up was because of him; she stood on the edge of oblivion and he made sure she didn't fall in.

That had been his job since their birth, especially since the Azra twins had perished.

_The hotel burned bright, that's what happened when gas and dynamite mixed, and he knew that there was nothing more to do. The two main reasons for their hunt were dead, there was no way they could have survived. They were set to die from the beginning, no matter how he had tried to stop everything before it began…_

_A heart wrenching scream broke the crackling and sizzling of burning wood._

" _NO!"_

_His head snapped from the mesmerizing flames to see her. Pulling her close against her will, he felt her knife sink into his shoulder. Fingernails scratched his face and forearms; he feels the blood start to seep into his shirt from his shoulder. Momentum was his enemy as his legs scream in pain from not moving in the face of her speed. Grunting in pain at it all, he still holds on tight._

" _I'm sorry" He whispers the words over and over into her ears until the fighting stops, until she knows that it's no good, that Kiba is dead. Her head falls into the crook of his neck just before the tears start to fall. And even with silver blade still imbedded in his skin, he pulls the one who stabbed him closer. Cradling his twin, he looks back to the flams as she sobs._

_Outlined in the hellish orange and black backdrop was their new clan leader, he could see the evil smile from where he was._

" _Are you happy now?" He snarled for his twin, who would have done the same had she not been suffering under the crushing truth of the twins' deaths._

_Turning to face his gaze, she answered "There's still one more"_

_His eye narrowed; there was no reason to involve Kato. His anger grew even more as it turned out that his sister wasn't finished talking…_

" _But at least we got rid of two wretched angels"_

_With those words, she disrespected the dead, the ones that should not be spoken ill of but instead forgotten._

_The sobbing mess against him shook even harder at the words._

_Never would he respect her again, never._

That, as he looked back, was the moment when he hated his sister.

Before then, he had disliked her; but then he had hated her with every fiber of his being. She knew he hated her, but the world saw otherwise as he was the barrier between his sisters.

Tara was the only reason he was here, his feet propped up on the desk with a gun pointed at the hostages so that Yuki could hunt the last of the Azra clan. This is one of the moments where he wished that he was another nameless Chinese man instead part of a ninja clan.

At least Yuki had not ordered the innocent persons he was guarding killed, and then he could let them go.

It had been ten minutes since his sisters, so different and yet so similar, had ridden the elevator out of sight. He had yet to hear gunshots, meaning that either Kato was not there or that the man was still a good ninja. It was the second; he knew that as fact even though it had been years since he had seen the man.

_He dodged a kick to the chest, before throwing his own punch._

_A smirk came to his face before it was wiped off as he was flipped onto the street like a pancake._

_Looking up into the face of his opponent, he groaned as a foot came down on his chest for the other boy to do a victory pose._

" _Kato" He wheezed, as the pressure started to affect his breathing._

_The angel helped him up, grinning in satisfaction._

_He rolled his eyes "Two out of three?"_

" _You'll still lose"_

_And then the next round started, as their guardian for the day, Sumi, watched them._

Fuck this shit, he decided; standing up so quickly that it startled the hostages.

He could keep the cops busy without risking human life; he was not going to use hostages. Kato wouldn't do that, and neither would he.

Putting the gun down on the secretary's desk, he looked at the people currently on the floor.

"Go" They all looked at his strangely, morons, he muttered internally.

"What?" One man asked

"Get out of here" He motioned at the door, before going through the desk's drawers for a certain item. He knew it would be there, there was no way that a stressed secretary wouldn't have…

They still weren't moving, just blankly staring at him in disbelief.

"What part of get out of here do no you not understand? LEAVE BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND AND SHOOT YOU!" Anger was not his forte but these people were annoying him to no end.

Scrambling, the people got to their feet and messily exited the building as his loud voice echoed the lobby. It became silent after they left, something he was grateful for.

With that he went back to his search, checking for that one item…

"There you are" Taking the bottle of liquor into hand, he opened the half empty bottle and took a swig. If he was going to be fighting and more than likely killing more people, he rather be buzzed than sober so that the memories might not stick.

He took a breath and enjoyed the feeling of the spreading liquid. Feeling a bit better, he took the gun back into his hands and went to lock the front doors with the bottle in hand.

Yuki would have his head for that, but she wouldn't do anything since she was going to finally fulfill her crazy quest of annihilating every last member of the Azra clan from the face of the planet.

Nearing the glass doors, he ignored the people staring at him.

That quest ending with killing his best friend…

Looking into the glass that separated him from the outside world, he saw the people that were normal, that didn't a crazy family as he did. Even if they did have crazy family members, they didn't have sisters that were trying to kill each other or kill almost forgotten clan members.

Locking himself in, he caught two familiar faces.

A crash came to his ears moments after the bottle of alcohol fell from his grip but he ignored it as he stared at the people that were supposed to be ash.

Either he had lost his mind or they were back.

He was tempted to smile, even though he knew nothing good was going to come from their return…

"I'll be damned"

…Yuki was going to lose her mind.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

There was more than one set of secrets; he knew that as truth as soon as their final destination was in sight.

They all had secrets, he knew this. Moments before, Britt had asked an easy question. Or at least it was supposed to be an easy question. Kato, their little brother, was being held hostage (also known as about to be killed by) by their psycho evil enemies from years ago. It was simple enough, not. The story was long, complicated, and painful. Some things were vital to the tale, but better left unsaid as well. For example, he was supposed to be dead. Everything had to be said for the whole story to be understood, every tear, every drop of blood, and every bullet had a place that needed to be said. But it could wait…

He, as well as Sumi, knew that there was something else going on when their white passenger kicked the door open and sprinted towards the building. He spared no time following, quickly throwing his door shut before his long stride went to work catching up. Behind him, he heard a sound identical to his door closing before the sound of his sister's high heeled feet picking up speed.

Everything seemed to rush at once at him and he took it all it, while keeping his gaze trained on the white boy that somehow had something and everything to do with Kato.

There was a group of people, what he assumed was workers for the newspaper, whispering in small groups. At least Kato had been able to get the innocents out, which could be said about the last time this had happened.

They all stood away from the building, out of the line of sight of the lobby, which meant that they had specifically told to stay away from there. Someone was in the lobby, with a gun since he could see faintly see the foot of a fallen guard. This was good and yet horrible information since…

"Kato said not to go into there, BRITT!"

…since his newest ally was sprinting towards those doors.

Knowing that Sumi would handle the woman that had screamed, he quickly went to cut the man off. If the white boy made it past him, he would be shot; something that he had a feeling wouldn't settle well with Kato. Whatever this man meant to his brother, he knew that no harm could come to Britt. He wouldn't allow it.

With this mindset, he adopted a firm stance right before the man plowed into him. The sarcasm, the smartass was gone from Britt; only the desire and need to get in the building. There was something else going on between this man and his brother; but he ignored the question of what as he hugged the man close as not to let him escape past.

He was currently holding the man from behind, a position which he knew wouldn't lead to anything; swiftly he switched to where he was face to face with the man.

There was little expression on the man's face, just the raw emotion of fear (which he assumed was for Kato). Brown eyes were slightly dilated; the body fighting for little reason other than it knew it had to fight against him.

"Britt" He tried to reach the man; but this wasn't the best situation. He barely knew the man, and vice versa, their only connecting factor being the person currently being hunted in the building behind them. But he had to get through to him; he would not let this man be killed, not because of him.

The Reid successor still fought; the name going past his ears as if it was the sound of wind against the sheer booms of bombs.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw everyone staring at their standoff, awaiting the results. Very briefly, he met Sumi's gaze, knowing that she was ready to knock the man out if needed. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that; it would be much easier to smooth things over with Kato if they had this man.

Using the grip on the man's shoulders that he had, he firmly shook him. "Britt, look at me"

He was getting closer, he knew that by how the attempts to escape became weaker and less numerous. He needed to wrap this up, so he could plan with his twin how to proceed in the rescue Kato mission.

You know, beyond doing whatever the hell he had to get his brother out of there. Oh, and shooting whoever got in his way. They needed an actual plan, even though he frankly didn't want one. He wanted to, against his better judgment, go in guns blazing.

It was  _Kato._

That fact was why he wanted to go in without a plan and it was also the reason why he knew he needed a plan.

The first step of the currently nonexistent plan was to get Britt back.

"Look at me" The pair of eyes refocused and finally noticed that he was there; that it wasn't just a random person blocking him. Recognition came a moment later, but he knew that he hadn't won just yet.

If he let go now, there was a chance that all the progress he had made would disappear and a bullet would follow. That couldn't happen, he had to ground Britt and reassure him that everything would be alright.

"Nothing is going to happen to him…" Britt's breathing slowed as he slowly and softly released the words; the time he was wasting didn't matter, the meaning had to hit home.

You can trust me, he communicated silently; never breaking gaze with the man.

"…I promise"

Letting the promise resonate and imbed itself, he waited a moment before removing his hold on the man. He gave Britt a bit of space; just enough to that he was not suffocating him, but that he could easily grab the man once more if needed.

On his own, Britt soon made eye contact with him. There was still fear, still anxiousness, and everything in between. But the instinct was there, the coherent Britt was back.

He knew it was safe then; he gripped the man's shoulder in a loving, comforting gesture for a moment before heading towards Sumi. Without looking behind, he knew that Britt was following him.

He knew that the man was because right now he was the thing grounding Britt from frantic chaos, he was the lifeline. The white boy was going to stay as close as possible, for fear of losing the comfort that he was putting out.

It was a role that he had always had, that's what happens when you were the eldest male successor in the clan. More so it was Kato who had been in Britt's position, but his sister had also needed him for that role.

Be the unmoving rock of support and strength; the protector.

Little by little, the role had fallen away, as his soul had; more than a decade of time without them breaking him down. Now, due to a man that he just met, it was coming back.

He was back in the role of leader.

"What's the plan?" His twin met his gaze, as she and the newly arrived men awaited his order.

Britt hovered beside him, silently asking the same.

His mind raced to formulate a plan, faster than before since he knew that he was needed, that Kato needed him.

As he was thinking though, every thought was interrupted by a group of hostages streaming from those two glass doors he had stopped Britt from going through.

What the…

That's when he caught sight of him; the enemy version of Kato, who he knew had tried to stop this massacre all those years ago. It had all been perfect then, there was no hate or running from the other side, the man had been like an adopted brother. But that had been then, there was no telling what side he was on now.

"Toru"

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

Time had become nonexistent to him.

Had it been ten minutes? Thirty? Three hours?

He had no idea as he rounded yet another corner in a fast yet silent run before crouching to peek around the grey cubical wall into the hall. Using the mirror he had found while avoiding the lionesses hunting him, he checked to see if they were nearby.

He gripped the gun firmly; it was only a matter of time before they met. Up to this point, he had not seen them, which was not surprising. They both had the same training he had, to stalk when possible and take your prey by surprise. A head on attack was risky, they wouldn't when there was a chance he could escape.

Faint noise came to his ears, perhaps the police had arrived; that would not turn out well since the Rava had no concern for life. Well at least two of them did, perhaps Toru would try to keep it to a minimum. But it had been so long, the evil could of reached him…

" _Britt!"_

The mirror nearly hit the floor as he jumped, his hand fumbling with a moment before he finally tucked it against his chest. The word had been so faint, he must of imagined it.

But what if he hadn't? Britt couldn't be here…not now.

Not with two (if not three, he wasn't sure of Toru) psychos roaming the building in search of him; BRITT COULD NOT BE HERE!

The thought of Britt encountering one of his enemies was distracting him, he would get shot if he didn't calm down.

Currently he was in a cubical in the middle of the floor, there was only one way to be sure that the idiot wasn't here at the moment and wasn't in danger. He hoped to god that Britt was at a strip club or something, he would kill the man later for it.

Using the mirror once more, this time with a slightly shaking hand, he found that the hallway was still clear. This was stupid, he knew that what he was going to do could get him killed. But inching across the building to the window slowly was not going to work, he needed to know now that Britt was safe. Standing, he darted across the floor towards the front facing windows. Stealth, despite his training reinforcing it, became second to speed as he ran blindly.

Hopefully they didn't hear him or see him, but really he didn't care…

"Not here" He murmured lowly, a prayer that Britt was not entering the craziness known as his past life.

…he had to know.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

The hunt was growing to be an irritation.

Not that she didn't want to stalk her prey, a fallen angel, she didn't want to be interrupted by the police. And while she knew that her brother would hold them off, there was only so long that this cat and mouse hunt could go on before Kato escaped.

He knew the building better, she needed to find him.

The sword on her back ached to feel the warm darkness of blood on it, she smiled at the thought of it all being over. Everything would be avenged then and nothing would be left except the family, her family, the superiors from the start.

Noise from outside did little to interrupt her concentration, her sharp eyes scanning for any sign of her enemy.

After all this time, it was going to end…

Footsteps, ever so faint, reached her ears and she stopped to watch. Kato wouldn't give himself up and wouldn't make a mistake like giving himself away…

More than likely it was her idiotic younger sister.

Movement in the corner of her eye made her turn quickly, the gun in her hand going off with precise aim.

An evil smile came to her face because whether it was her sister or Kato, both deserved to be shot.


	12. Rising Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In short, the bullet was not the problem; it was what came after the small object had been fired. The consequences that were triggered and caused by the explosion and sound pop that came with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do me a favor, READ ALL THE NOTES. Thank you.
> 
> ~I own nothing in this story, except for the fabulous OCs, the plot, and little details that happen to get into there. Other than that, everything belongs to another evil genius who came up with the idea first.
> 
> WARNING: This newest chapter, and the ones to come, is long and filled with sadness, fluff, and further proof that Yuki is major bitch.
> 
> Oh yeah, and there are a shit ton of TWIN FEELS, because Kiba and Sumi are by favorite characters ever and I want to show that through every, the last decade or so of being without everything else, they have had each other. THERE BE TWIN FEELS AHEAD, BE READY!
> 
> ANN: The rating might go up due to violence/cussing…but probably not for a while. Just know that if the rating does go up, it'll be because of possible sexy times. ;) This is just an FYI for people who don't have accounts to put this story on story alert.
> 
> The weird, wicked, and wonderful angel muse feeds on reviews….thank you for feeding it! The muse also loves cookies. Chocolate chip is its favorite.
> 
> ANNN: There is some Mandarin Chinese in this chapter; I do not speak the language so if there are words that are incorrect then I apologize. I have put translations so that you can know what their actually saying!
> 
> Also: I do not know if you guys know this, but the plot is partially planned out, the end game anyways, but most of this is me typing and making shit up off the top of my head. I hope it all works out, but with the fact above being completely true, I implore you to PLEASE tell me if there are major plot holes. Most will be addressed in the coming chapters, but it's always nice to know what you need to take care of.
> 
> One more thing: If you are confused about the plot so far, then PLEASE PM me and I'll lay it out for you. I want people to be able to enjoy this story as much as I do, that's why reviews help so much. But knowing that someone is confused just brings my good mood down. You guys are the reason that this story exists (that and the green hornet movie for inspiration) and I want everyone to get what this is about.
> 
> YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED – tissues and chocolate are available during and after to help treat extreme cases of feels and gross sobbing.
> 
> With no further delay, welcome to chapter twelve. I hope you enjoy the show.

Planning, in a predictable way, was started by the twins. Casey and Mike, who had started out listening, had then joined in. Not to say that their presence was not wanted, but the female ninja was skeptical. This had led to the younger twin trying to start a private conversation with her brother, while he, being kind and courteous, had tried to include them. Eventually the four voices had harmonized, though they were still arguing, while a few feet away the evacuated editors had started talking among themselves as any group of humans would do. Not to say that the combined voices were loud, but it wasn't a soft sight for the ears either.

Somehow, the sounds of a frantic group of workers (that had consumed when they had first arrived) fell silent at just the moment the bullet exited the gun. If a pin could have or did hit the ground, the slim metal would have been heard hitting the asphalt loud and clear as though it was a steel bar.

If you were to ask, some may say that the lack of sound came at the right time. If the talking would have continued, the shot may have not been heard and the injured party would have had less of a chance. On the other hand, as others would have pointed out, why bring back the panic into the group. The shot was not fired towards them; they rather just be blissfully ignorant to the destructive sound than hear it. Then there was the third percentage, as there always was in any debate, those who were spilt as to what the energy surrounding the moment was.

Was it negative or positive? They sided with neither the optimists nor the pessimists, instead looking back and forth between the reasoning of both. Dark, light, eh….whatever.

In the big picture of things, it really didn't matter; a bullet was a bullet. It was a mixture of lead and other elements that had the potential to kill or save, depending on the situation and who was the one holding the weapon to fire the common but deadly projectile.

The fact that it had been shot was not the problem; no, the intended target was. Depending on where the skin had been sliced into, like a Christmas ham, the time clock could be counting down minutes to seconds. If someone had been it, then medical precautions had to be taken.

In short, the bullet was not the problem; it was what came after the small object had been fired. The consequences that were triggered and caused by the explosion and sound pop that came with it.

Screams echoed outside the building, an instinctual reaction that ripped through the mixture of reporters and editors, while the most important reactions to the shot were projected not out but inside.

One, the first to hear the sound, due to where he was, of discharge of power and sparks, barely moved. At least it seemed that way to periodic, sweeping glances of the others. In reality, every nerve screamed and tensed in only the way that a protector would do when faced with a wild imagination and the memories to assist with the gory thoughts. This bodily and mental reaction only resulted in the back being only an inch straighter and the hold on a knife tightening to where the grip dug into the skin. It would leave a mark four many minutes, maybe even bruise if left long enough.

The mirror reaction of the first was of the same, pure, on the edge of becoming unhinged,  _panic_ , but in a different aspect. Tense muscles were limp, knees on the verge of collapse as the meaning behind what was going on and what just happen sunk in. High heels shifted ever so slightly, close to letting the ankle inside them roll and cause pain, but somehow it was keeping the body steady. Instead of narrowed, as the first set was, the second pair of eyes instead closed. The lids barely fluttered, like the wings of a butterfly shaded with eye shadow, before sealing in the dark and memories and predictions only a solider could make.

For the third, like those who bordered on the edge of light and dark concerning the bullet, it was a mixture that rarely existed for those with large egos. Powerless was a feeling that tended to not react well with those that held power, nor those who had been raised in the shadow of one who had it. Eyes wide, fixated on nothing as the lungs constricted like the fear creeping up the spine. Breathing was not a thought as those muscles tensed, coiling upon themselves. Arms that had been firmly against the body went numb, then limp; if the hands had been holding anything, it would have hit the ground. A noise, one that had not been, nor would it ever be, categorized or named, came out of the man's mouth. The closest thing to it would be more than likely be between a strangled sob and soft joy. The estranged show of vocals was soft, unnoticeable; yet completely announced the mindset, intentions, and emotions of the man behind the thing to break the silence.

For the twins, especially the third, the statement to describe the combined reaction of the trio, the thing that came in response to the fact that a bullet could be buried in the only tether they had, was simple and perfect for the moment.

They were freaking the fuck out; and one should trust that that  _nowhere near_ covered the situation and emotions streaming faster than the toughest rapids in Colorado.

Perhaps inelegant, but there was not time for fanciness and eloquence.

The state of panic and inner turmoil only lasted for a moment, just enough time for the gunpowder and cooled embers to settle onto the office floor; then the spell broke.

The question as to if twins carried telepathic abilities was once again raised as, by no sigh or contact, the siblings of the possible victim split the attention of the crowd instantaneously.

Varying only by pitch, the voices spoke calmly but firmly; the words almost seemed like suggestions instead of what they truly were, orders. The S. S. Ninja sailed smoothly, like a well-oiled machine as the emotions were shoved down. It was obvious they had done this before, direct under duress.

One addressed the civilians, compensating for his height by speaking softer, while the other addressed her waiting troops.

"Guard the civilians and perimeter…"

"The police are on their way, now is the time to remain calm…"

"…do not let anyone in…"

"….and not enter the building…

"…or out, you know your targets"

"…for your own safety and those around you. Just wait for the police"

Seamlessly, the two blurred in their use of effective leadership. If they were panicking, they were in no way, shape, or form showing it. They had to be on some level; and though it had been years, the training and experience had come back as a bittersweet help.

The one person who did not fall into either group, due to the fact that he was neither a solider nor helpless (though he felt so), just stared at the steel and glass. The mixture of the two was his biggest assets and for a long time had been the largest source of sorrow and pain. Between the disappointments stemming from the early years, to the death of the man he had only ever wanted approval from; the towering structure before him had held emotion that seemed to be cemented for the eternity to follow. It had been a firm destiny, to only ever regard his personal money machine as a red negative in his mind.

To his surprise, eternity had passed rather quickly; the arrival of his newest destructive hobby, complete with a trench coat and mask, bringing him to see the company in a different light. With the lack of a shadow looming, it having been buried under granite, the dark clouds that had floated above his head have become sunshine, complete with grumpy editors (Mike) and sassy assistants (Casey). Then of course there was Kato…

Back in the present, where past thoughts were banished, the name brought back the first thing he had associated with the building, fear. Way back, when the tower seemed to scrape the sky, the visits were few and miserable. Small mistakes, accidents, led to glares and words that he had not understood. Not that it matter, they were still burned into his skin as they raining down like golf ball sized hail.

Now it was all swarming back, like a hornet's nest that had been cracked open by an ill thrown rock. Fear had once come from his father, where the mixture of frustration and disgust had his clinging to the skirts of the ladies that worked in the health and beauty sections, but now it much worse. It had evolved, just like he should have expected it to. The fear had changed, as had he, to reflect his age and life.

Chaos, that was beginning to be controlled and calmed by the gentle roars and smooth prodding delivered by his scary new friends, raged around him. The whole situation was a mystery a pointless one in his opinion.

Out of this entire clustered screw up of what to do and what not to do, there was only one thing that was truly clear to him; today would determine if the shadow would come back. It would show if his brain would consider the building to be a death trap of despair or a sanctuary of sweet bliss as it had been in the recent past.

What lay behind those clear doors would heal the wounds of the past or tear them wide open, he knew this. This is wide he was not moving, despite his heart screaming to do so, to do something,  _anything._ He wasn't sure he could handle more pain; this could push him over the edge. He would go in behind the others, so that they could shield him, not from bullets or enemies, if the worst…

He broke off the thought with a strangled sound that was only for him. He hoped they would move soon, then he wouldn't have more time to think and dig himself into a deeper whole.

Like how everything could change by taking a few steps.

It would all depend on who, if there was anyone, was beside him. When the dust settled, if there would be two beers uncapped by hand and unceremoniously clanked together before drinking, if he would be forced to wear a batman shirt instead of the green hornet one he had hidden from a certain ninja's grasp…

The resounding click of a gun coming together, the part showing the holder that it was ready for action, came to his ears, snapping him out of his other world was getting bigger hint bravado by the minute.

Turned out the weapon belong to the older of the two, who checked the other one on his person before placing them both back in their respective hostlers. His knife was sheathed on his side, ready for a moments noticed to be pulled. It seemed that Sumi had already done so, as she was rolling her shoulders. The stretches also included swift grabs for the sword strapped to her back, like she was going to cut him down in a moment's time. This went on for a moment as he watched their preparations, though how could you prepare yourself for war and the things that existed beyond the initial doorframe?

Finally, on another unspoken note that added another layer to the question of if the two were connected somehow, that begged to be answered, the two started a determined but cautious pace towards the doors that would be his nightmare or savior.

The figure that had been there was gone, after staring at them like a deer in headlights for a moment before becoming like smoke and floating away. The man, who the twins had obviously recognized, was just another thing to add to the list of 'Things they really needed to talk about and things that needed to be explained to him'. Also, on a similar, but more personal list, he decided he needed to come up with a condensed name for the other list.

Really, all he wanted to know concerning the newest stranger was two things. One, was the man apart of the evil, revenge seeking clan that they were about to go up against? If so, he really did not want to know any more. And two, why did the two seem…disappointed and perhaps even sad at the appearance of the other man? If the dark haired man was a part of the evil clan, which he was pretty sure he was, then why was there regret coming from the twins when they saw him?

Now was not the time to ask though, this was not the time or place to ask for the story that he knew would probably explain most everything that he wanted to know; besides, he rather have Kato there to translate it into 'White English', as the man had put it once, for him.

Now, he was just growing irritated. He could understand having to be prepared to go in, but now he was getting even more nervous than he had been before. He wanted to go in now and find his stupid man, then squeeze the life out of him. Of course Kato would probably bash his head in, but it would be worth it.

"Ready?" He asked aloud, although if they didn't say yes, he was going to walk in there by himself. The worry his heart was putting out was slowly, but surely overriding the logic he had restrained himself with; he would not be waiting much longer.

What he was expecting to see was a firm nod, more than likely from Kiba, before the three of them did a badass stroll towards the tower of doom. Also known as the Daily Sentinel. With explosions behind them, a wall of fire to make their image that much more awesome. Alright, there would not be any explosions, although he wished there were.

Instead, he was greeted with the sight of two pairs of black eyebrows scrunched together as the two stopped their current walking and turned to stare at him; he groaned, it was the exact same thing that Kato did when he was confused. The two looked at each other, making eye contact, before looking back to him.

"We…" She flicked her eyes back to her other half before continuing "…are ready…"

He stepped in, using his height to make the statement, or rather order, that came out of his mouth that much more daunting. " **You** are staying here"

Most would have been intimidated; after all you had the Chinese ninja version of the wonder twins, but he was not. He had been around Kato for months, any fear he had for the violent genes that the man (and his family) had was gone. It just wasn't going to work.

Besides, it was his building and his friend; he was going to go in with them.

"No" It was a simple counterattack to the order that had been issued, his eyes conveying the rest of the information about how this situation was going to go. Either A) they take him inside or B) he was going to go in anyways, even if there were scary other ninjas in there.

There were slightly wavering sighs, before the two turned to the other to see if they were going to accept his 'offer'. Of course there was none, but it was nice to think that they thought they had a choice.

"Jiang su tong" He growled in soft irritation, before rubbing his temples slightly as though he was trying to organize his thoughts. He had no idea what they were saying, other than the obvious insult, but it did not matter as long as they wrapped this up quickly. _[_ _Translation from Mandarin Chinese:_ _Stubborn white boy]_

"Ta shi ye xian, tamen yao chelie zhi juli" She did not want him to come. That much was obvious at her distasteful expression as she spoke. More than likely she was trying to appeal to her brother. Perhaps Kiba was already on his side?  _[It is too dangerous, they will rip him apart]_

"Wodeng yao vi nali" Kiba replied almost instantaneously, his voice lowly showing power but understanding as well. He had no idea where he stood, but he hoped his cause was close to approval.  _[We will be there]_

"Ta buxing gongzuo. Ta jiang man…" The other half started to protest, like someone was holding a gun to her head. The words were still smooth, but the mouth twitched, as did the fingers. She was growing more agitate, it did not help that he cut her off.  _[It won't work. He will slow…]_

It was a snapped response, irritation present in the man's tone. "Wodeng jiang shu ta vt"

The elder did not want to be having the conversation, he rather just take the stupid white boy and use himself as a human shield rather than waste time.  _[We will figure it out]_

Her face twisted, slightly, with anger and pain before her voice rose to the point of yelling "Bu! Wodeng wuke! Wondeng wuke vi youziren rutong wondeng ruo, bu zai!" The voice was raw by the time the sentenced came to a close, all eyes on the shorter of the two.  _[No! We can't! We can't be responsible like we were, not again!]_

The tension had grown, evolved to where it was no longer panic radiating, but pain. All other conversations had been out on hold, silence echoing and speaking in volumes as her words died, after ringing in their ears for a moment. There was space between them, one standing straight and tensed, the other seemed ready to fall.

They stayed like this for a moment, just watching each other. The outburst had always existed, they both had known that, but never had they expected for it to come out. Her chest went through the motions of breathing heavily, rising and falling twice as fast as the taller man across from her.

Her eyes were red and the mascara looked ready to smear, but it all seemed to dissipate as wordlessly, the older closed the gap and led them both through a deep breath. After it was over, his hand cleared away a few of the gathering tears and softly replied to the somewhat sudden outburst. "Ta buxing ai dangshi. Ta buxing fasheng zai. Wo aux vb ta"

The crowd watched the scene, the heartbreak and history between the two hinting its way to the surface; it resonated, despite the fact that everything was in a language unlike their own. The only person who could understand the words was a reporter, who had spent the last year over in China reporting on the latest economic boom. There was a crowd of women around him, as he feverishly translated while still trying to pay attention.

" _It won't be like then. It won't happen again. I won't let it"_ He repeated back to the ladies, some sniffling and grabbing for tissues despite the fact that they had no idea what was going on. The language was strange, but beautiful one, and while he was glad he could understand, at the same time he felt as though he was intruding.

"Wodeng auxvbbu bao ta, wodeng chuile zuihou shijian" If the elder had his way, they would not be here right now. That way she could lie on his shoulder and they could watch bad action movies like they used to and the need to get over this guilt would not be so urgent.  _[We couldn't protect him , we failed last time]_

She was calmly down, but not in the way she needed to be; everything was getting churned to the surface and now was not the time. The words continued "Wodeng – Wo wuke…bu zai"  _[We – I can't…not again]_

Kiba took a step closer, just enough to where if she decided to lean on him, the space would be more manageable. Most would think that they did not have time for this spectacle. But she needed to be ready to fight, in body, mind, and soul. His hands slipped to her shoulders, holding them steadily.

"Wo shi zheli, Kato shi zheli. Na shi dou ge shis zhenduixing" One hand slipped to raise her chin up, to ensure eye contact. Rallying her for battle was a process that he should have done sooner, he knew this situation would come up sooner or later. Someone had to lead, he needed her by his side; he could not protect Britt on his own. It was meant to reassure and rally her, but really, it was just a plead for him not to go into battle without his other half.  _[I am here, Kato is here. That is all that matters. Focus.]_

She nodded, taking a few more breaths, then putting space between the two of them. When this was all over, he would have to hold her for hours to reassure her that he was still here. The nightmares were always there, even after all those years.

"Wo hai buyao rutong…" The emotion was suddenly gone, tucked back into the Pandora's Box inside. It would all come back out again, soon, but at least it was not a distraction now. _[ I still don't like…]_

He cut her off with a gruff reply, while switching back to the native language of those watching "We need him"

She sighed, before following him as he walked towards Britt. Soon, she had caught up and matched his stride. They hardly slowed when they reached the white boy, both taking only a moment to glare at him before the elder nodded his head for him to join the small, but capable hunting/rescue party.

They continued, the curly haired man falling in behind them, a few seconds behind. Griping the side arms available, their approach to the doors was tense, as they expected for bullets to start raining down.

Both grip a handle when they finally reached the glass entrance, looking for a sign of approval and readiness from the other before they would fling it open. From here there would be little conversation, only shouted warnings and glares; nothing else would need to be said, not when you knew what the other was thinking. That did not come from being twins, no, that came from being shoulder to shoulder in a thousand and one gun fights where a misstep meant death. Not to say that the 'same egg, same sperm' thing didn't help. They would need that if they were going to get through this.

"Stay behind us" The leader of the group said it firmly, with a malicious undertone, stating there was no way in hell that he could or should disobey that very direct order.

She looked to Britt, who was grimly waiting, with one last piece of advice before entering the warzone.

"And, su tong?"

He timidly looked at her, not even letting the playful insult resonate "Yeah?"

"Don't do anything stupid"

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

The smell of paper and toner, with a hint of perfume, abated in a moment's time, a tide of average smells parting for hell to rain down. It was in the form of metal, as many had felt before in the years past and in the insured years to come.

There was a reason why guns were classified as dangerous; anything with the ability to floor a grown human being and render them a mess was nothing good. Even if used in the 'right' hands, which was a blurred line that could easily go into the dark side, guns rarely turned a situation good.

At the aim of its master, the bullet had flown on course and hit the target in the shoulder. The person was strong, but not compared to something that was flying with the horsepower of a Ferrari.

The person had gone to its knees, all remnants of attempted stealth gone as gasps of burning pain came to the ears, and almost to the floor as the newly damaged nerves screamed. A few seconds passed as the mind came to terms with the new injury and how to compensate for it.

The person did not know who had fired the shot, but it was obvious that it was time to move, rarely was injury delivered without malicious intent. The shooter would be coming to make sure the finish the job, as was the tradition and what was required by their training.

It was slow moving, but at least something was being done. Strained inches turned into precious feet, distance was being put from the danger, all while the breathing of the person growing heavier with exertion. Keeping the panic down that was quickly bubbling to the surface, while trying not to scream as the shoulder bumped into something, was testing the person's limits.

But getting away was the top priority and it overwhelmed and wiped out all else. No thoughts of other people who were involved in the situation, nothing but pure survival instinct, with a dash of violent experiences mixed in.

Staggering around a corner, the victim smeared blood on the white cubicle that was being used for support. The person's legs were shaking, ready to collapse and just give up; no amount of flesh could keep up the fleeing act for long, not with the condition the injured party was in.

The feeling of victory, of being able to move away, was becoming fleeting.

Through gritted teeth, the person groaned and kept moving forward. There were not footsteps following, not that could be heard, but that might be because the heart of the one who had been shot was working so hard that the sound of it beating itself to death wasn't letting anything else be heard.

Time did not matter, not how much had passed or what was to come. Now, moving was the only thing to focus on.

The eardrums throbbed even further when an alarm sounded and echoed, but it was ignored and decided to be a lesser pain compared to the wound seeping blood down the person's shirt.

Then there were words, unrecognizable in the mind's scrambled state, so they were ignored too. The pain festering from the shoulder, and spreading through the veins and muscles down into the chest, was making progress slow to almost a halt.

The person was close to giving up, just wanting to lie down and stare at the white ceiling as the pain would seep away into a pool beneath the body.

In a moment, the person would be crawling across the floor, doing nothing but expending energy that could be used for better purposes. Like thinking back to what had been and what could have been.

No longer was the person standing, as the body had finally given out and fallen onto the floor of a random cubicle. The only thing that was available to use in the exhausted state, was weakly hold a hand against the wound. Blood seeped through, sliding down the hand in a familiar motion.

Clouded eyes closed, the only sound heard in the disoriented fuzz that was in the chosen place of dying, was that of weak breathing. Lungs inflating themselves, working themselves to keep the heart working; the system was breaking down, minute by minute.

No help was coming; the victim knew this as a fact.

Death was a lonely affair after all.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

Step up, move forward.

The movement was easy enough, repeated a few thousand times until his muscles were burning with much needed exertion. There were other elevators he could have taken, to flee the general area where they would soon be, or already were, but the stairs were a consistent thing to keep his body busy while he processed the facts.

They were back, and alive for that matter.

Everything connected to the two of them, even the identical brown eyes that made him smile with one wink, had been buried within the ashes of the burned hotel. It had been a mistake, the choices he had made that night. One big mistake that had led to unmarked graves, it was something that was never far from his mind.

Of course, now he had two zombies, that had risen from the hole he had buried all the shit concerning that night and the past in, in the same building he was in. Shame and guilt could wait, now he needed to try and make sure that someone did not get killed.

Anyone else anyway; he knew his sisters well, they did not miss. Meaning that either Kato was dead, which was bad for two main reasons in the form of the zombies he had mentioned earlier (zombies with guns), or one of his family was injured. Or, in a third, best case scenario, Tara had finally just shot Yuki in the back like they both wanted to and the situation could deescalate.

While he wished the third scenario was true, he doubted that it had actually happened. His karma was not that good to him. He just needed to find his twin and get out of here, then hope that everything would sort itself out.

Namely Yuki being killed, but that was details.

Rounding the final set of stairs, he was silent slipping through the crack of the door onto padded carpet. There was no sign of a soul, only scattered papers and forgotten coffee mugs. Making sure that his breathing was under control, he scanned the walls for his target.

Pulling the fire alarm was the best way to signal them, the idea of a gunshot being used out of the question since that option had already been ruined. With a moment of hesitation, and silent prayer hoping that all would turn out well, he pulled the handle and listened to the shriek fill one of his senses.

The siren played for a moment, repeating the same notes in its cold robotic scream, until his whim ran out. Cracking open the plastic was easy, giving him access to the brightly colored cords he needed. Slicing through them, the sound died without a whimper and gave way to lonely silence again.

They were coming, he knew that much. Not was the time to flee, not the time to think. Not to say "Sorry", though it would mean nothing in the face of the present, not to beat himself raw with the regret of the years he had lived while they had 'died'.

He crept with purpose across the floor, keeping his eyes wide and his heart closed. There could be no distractions, he had to protect her.

Now was not the time.

There was no time.

* * *

**XxX~LET'S ROLL KATO~XxX**

* * *

Glass hit opposing walls as they muscled their way, shoulders connecting solidly, guns raised and ready. Eyes scanned, looking for anything that resembled what usually a phantom when it came to fighting; Toru always preferred to hide in the shadows instead of personally ending it.

There was nothing to find, not even a muzzle of a gun to see, and after a third sweep of their side, the two looked the center of the room. Two cooled corpses, the red drying around the edges of the pool of blood, was the only thing occupying the room.

The lobby was modern, contemporary, in style with the bare necessities, but flawed when it came to the presence of blood. Most rooms were ruined that way, but looking around the room, it was perfectly professional until you hit that one spot in your vision where the carnage was on display for all to see.

Knowing the others were right behind him, that they were safe, he lead them deeper across the tile, through the glass shards and liquor. Bypassing the blood and flesh was easier, but harder to ignore. Being sensitized to violence was both a blessing and a curse; the first because distractions to the mission were nonexistent, but then there was the coldness, the indifference that came with not focusing on the blood or the person.

All was quiet on front of the soon to be waged battle; it was not going to be a fun one, he could just feel it in his bones. He was about to pass by the desk, on the way to the elevator, which Britt was about to point out before he gave the man a look saying that he could find the elevator (which was in PLAIN sight) by himself, when a note stuck out at him.

It was on the edge of the desk, hazard in the way that it was not straight and placed quickly by the writer; there were damp smudges, caused by wet fingers lingering across it, making it obvious what the identity of the writer was.

Sumi leaned over his shoulder, just enough to scan the message, before he tucked it closer to him. No reason for Britt to see it; he wouldn't understand. She smiled faintly, before it faded into a creased frown of focus; no one understood like they did.

He looked over it once more, to take in the messy cursive written in a rush. There was no time to reminisce, but that did not mean that he couldn't burn the writing into mind. Just another thing to anchor him to the present, to focus on what he needed to do.

_Welcome back to the party._

_Refreshments, revenge, and those in need of rescue are available on the top floor._

_See you there._

_-T_

It was sarcastic and silly, making a joke of the situation; but that was Toru. The man never had dealt with stress and death situations very well. His sense of humor was sadistic and strange at times, but it worked. They all had something to keep them sane, so they could smile sometime after the blood had washed away. Turning the hell they were going into a party invitation was his, you couldn't blame him for not being creative.

He folded it and stuffed it into his pocket, knowing that it would get wrinkled even if he was gentle. He would shove it in Toru's face later, when they finally cornered the bastard, and tell him what an utter asshole he is for being able to make jokes at a time like that. But for nice, it was nice to have. It showed, in some respects, that the past and what it had held was not completely forgotten.

Giant boxes of glass, no matter how strong said glass was, was not really his thing, but he got into the elevator anyway. With normal elevators, you had someone to hide; with this you were on display for all to see. It blew any sneakiness or stealth and he was sure that a bullet could still kill him if it went crashing through the glass.

Little to say, the ride up the many stories was not fun, even with her touching his shoulder in silent but firm support. His eyes were glued to the lighted buttons, telling them in simple, yet functional, text what number they were on.

They were almost there when the blaring noise that could only mean one thing roared in their ears. The use of the fire alarm, which he hoped went off due to someone pushing it, he guess it was their not so mystery note leaver, only lasted for a few seconds before cutting off.

It was a signal to the others, that was really the only thing it could be, meaning that either the hunt was over or something else had happened to where they needed to leave, now. His fingers twitched at the thought of the first choice, it had to be anything other than that, anything.

Subconsciously, his lip curled back into a silent snarl when  _she_ came into view. They rise up slow, like time is slowing to taunt him on the living body that should have been in the ground years ago.

The mid length black spikes surrounding the narrowed eyes, then there's the sadistic smile that he would remember anywhere and anytime from the first time they met on the battlefield. It had been a normal day, nothing special about it until in the crowd, she had been pointed out to him.

_The sun beat down, little to no clouds being able to cover, as he watches his family stare down strangers. They were enemies, but not to him, not yet. Especially not the girl his age, the one who was busy trying to 'talk' with someone she knew._

" _That is Yuki Rava, the next in line" Someone informed him, even using a finger to make sure they knew he had the target in mind._

" _Pure evil" Another voice chimed in, lowly so that not everyone could hear._

_She didn't look evil he decided,_

_He watched her steal the man's wallet that she had been talking to, walking away with a satisfied smirk on the young face of hers. It was haunting, a flash of pearly whites that was obviously being shown due to nothing happy or joyful._

_She wasn't evil, not yet; except maybe for that smile._

_He takes his sister's hand and holds it tight, just to remember the line between family and rival, knowing which side he was always going to be on and why. When they walk away, his hold only loosened slightly, as his twin had complained at discomfort, he can feel the stare._

_The hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge, reminding him of the stained image, of perfectly razor sharp fangs directed at him._

_Evil; not yet, but soon._

His eyes were narrowed now, jaw clenched with the minimum amount of oxygen snaking through as his body decided to go into full on aggression mode. The only reason he had not rushing her right now, was that one) they were not fully on the top level yet, so it would be pointless to leap through the glass and two) he was not ready. Yuki was skilled with mid-range fighting, while he did better with hand to hand, as his knife suggested. Not to say that he could not take the bitch on, but he did not have the right equipment…

There is a scoff of disgust next to him, coming from the person who hated Yuki the most, after him of course. He did not have to look to know that Britt was cowering behind them, at the far side of the elevator due to their emotions, and that Sumi was already planning to rip a certain bitch's head off.

It was all her fault, she had been the cause for all of it to fall apart. There had been the possibility of a merge, peace; but then  _she_ had come along to tear it all apart. The blood was all on her hands and she just laughed with that damn smile. She had enjoyed all of it.

"She's mine" He laid claim before his sister could do the same. While he would accommodate her wishes for the most part, this was not the case this time. He was going to cut down the person who had ruined everything, taken away everyone.

Sumi did not put up a fight, just nodding and gently squeezing his hand, because she understood that the fire that was not letting his wounds fully healed stemmed from the person in bother their sights.

A moment later, she withdrew her hand before replacing the hilt of a familiar tool into his. It had been their father's, passed to Sumi right before everything had fallen apart; there was no more perfect tool for the job. He would need it to get close enough to slit the bitch's throat.

A silent  _thank you_ passed between them, allowed and abled by years of being no further than a foot apart, followed by  _kick her ass_ from her. His lips quirked up, but it was not a smile. He wasn't capable of it now, not when he was practically vibrating with anticipation.

He nodded, before glancing towards Britt. The man was not plastered against the back glass, having peeled himself off by guessing that the rage moment was over. It wasn't, it was just being controlled.

With Yuki and Toru around, the third had to be outside the glass doors, somewhere. The black hair swishing along with the slim body that was moved effortlessly…he swallowed, not the time.

The white boy would lose one of them, meaning that he would be in danger. He was nighty five percent sure that they needed Britt to make sure Kato didn't kill them, when this was finally all over. Meaning that Britt was at the top of the list.

Right under Yuki, because she needed to die, plain and simple.

_Watch out for him?_

Her eye rolled before one winked, an obvious  _of course_ to the silent question. Through everything, he still had her to help him kick ass (or kick his for that matter) and take names. It was a comforting thought, to know that no matter what the hell happened, there was someone who got it in the world.

The lift was almost docked at its last stop, where all needed to get off or go back down, and he took a deep breath. He was going to be leaving her, them both, without his help. Even if it was for only a few moments.

"I love you" It was soft; a whisper of his usual deep base, she knew it was still him.

It was a tradition that had been started sometime between the point where Kato had come not the picture and they had become the top generals for the clan. When every moment could be your last together, it's always best to part with the important thing being said.

Soft lips pressed themselves into his cheek, just before he held her close for a hug; this could be it. Yuki had out maneuvered him before and he could not take a chance on it.

"Love you too" The reply was pleasing, winding into his brain and heart, giving him more things to help keep his control where it belonged, in charge.

Then there was space between them, the contact having been the last they would ever have form the other. You could not just pretend and hope that everything would be okay, that was foolish and led to heartbreak.

The hilt dug into his skin as the doors slid open, he stepped out to glare at Yuki, the same way she had so many times before. The sheath of the blade dropped to the floor, the silver shining in the artificial lights that hung above.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the most important person in his life weave into the maze of cubical, giving them a wide berth as she did so. The stranger, who was more of a friend now, followed with purpose.

_Be safe._

He stood tall, barely letting the tip of the blade hit the carpet as he waited for her to notice.

It only took a moment.

The extension of his arm scratched against the floor, ready to be used to draw blood, to splatter is across the professional setting; he was ready. Now all he needed was her.

"Weren't expecting to see me again, were you, bitch?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews? Theories, questions, or random anon comments are welcomed, so type away.
> 
> So, coming up, we have:
> 
> The two alphas going at it, sure to be interesting. Let round, whatever number it is, commence.
> 
> Possible death of a character. Any guesses who it is?
> 
> More of Toru and what's going on with him.
> 
> Until, next time, sayonara readers. Hope to see you soon.


End file.
